


2020 Collection of Jori Drabbles

by Correnteza



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fallout (Video Games) Setting, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Pirate, College, Devil Jade, F/F, First Dates, Journalist, Late Night Drives, Missing Persons, Mojave Wasteland (Fallout), Pirates, Post-Graduation, Secret Society, Time Travel, Truth or Dare, YouTube, alternate universe skyrim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 24,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22073860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Correnteza/pseuds/Correnteza
Summary: A year of drabbles inspired by literally hundreds of prompts, about one written a week, and uploaded as soon as I finish editing them in most cases.
Relationships: Tori Vega/Jade West
Comments: 222
Kudos: 205





	1. A Starry Sky, A Black Truck, Golden Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Almost all of these prompts were from the tumblr SparkingStoryInspiration, and the prompt is more often than not used as the chapter's title

_ “Why do you need a truck?” He had asked, his eyes shrewd and cold as ever as they glossed over the newest in the line of “rebellious” demands his daughter was making.  _

_ “Why do you need a mistress?” Jade had shot back without so much as looking up from her phone. Two days later, the truck was home with her, a new ticket to freedom and a way to find companionship by escaping the silent house she kept to. _

It hadn’t even taken a week for her and Cat to remove the tri-fold cover from the bed of her new vehicle, and Beck had managed to help her find an actual cover for it. Hell, she’d even made the nerd of the group useful, so long as he kept his puppet far away, and invited Robbie to help Cat figure out how to rig the little bat-shaped string of lights she had found for Jade. The goal was to make her truck her new home, even if she didn’t need to resort to that just yet, and no one had really questioned it. Maybe they all assumed it was some fun for future roadtrips.

Well over a year later, the final piece came into play when one Victoria Vega appeared with a mattress far too big for her and Andre to struggle with carrying by themselves, and the dumbest smile on her full lips as she pointed at the cherry red bow atop it. “Happy graduation, Jade!” With that she was making her demands of hugs to a clearly dumbfounded young woman, who could only readily accept and respond positively to the embrace. At long last, her new home away from her father’s house would be complete. Through long nights she had spent with the other girl, she never would have guessed that enough attention had been paid to her laments that Tori would make something work. Of course Jade had been meaning to get around to buying a custom mattress herself, but there was always something more pressing to be attended to.

She celebrated the gift moreso than her graduation from highschool, dragging Tori out with her with no explanation beyond “bring a blanket” and the promise of another sleepover with less pranks than last time, even if over time the pranking Tori had stopped and turned into them both pranking Trina. The taller girl had been incessant with her questions, asking at least one every three minutes they spent in the car before laughing when Jade finally threatened to murder her on the side of the road and relenting to blare loud music and roll the windows down.

Jade wasn’t sure how their night had passed, how the drive had gone. She knew she’d laughed, lightly swatted at Tori, and screamed to the music until her throat hurt and her voice was hoarse, but it had all flown by in seconds, or so it felt. Suddenly she was parking on the beach and getting out, careful of the sand as she made her way around her truck and opened up the back, leaving Tori to only follow her example as she crawled in and sank into the waiting blankets and pillows on her seldom used mattress. Gently strung lights welcomed them both as her companion followed suit, marveling at the fake flowers pinned to the roof and the hints of Jade that embodied the space; a horror novel here, a notebook there where she worked on her latest script ideas. 

“Well, make yourself at home,” Jade gestured around, as unceremonious as ever as she lounged on her stomach to gaze out at the water while she pretended not to cuddle one of the blankets against herself.

Tori didn’t miss it, but was smart enough not to remark on it. “So I finally get a romantic date with you after all these years?” Her voice was soft and teasing, an actual goddamn giggle slipping from her lips at how quickly Jade’s head whipped around to fix blue eyes on her.

“Fucking pardon?”

“I’m just saying. You brought me to the beach a little after sunset, in the bed of your cozy truck to cuddle, and I can absolutely see the bottle of wine over there. The ambient lighting with these cute little bat lights. The snacks, the mcdonalds we stopped for. Shall I go on?”

Pale cheeks were flushed, Jade looking away with a hint of a pout that she was being made to admit to what this whole thing was instead of Tori just silently going with it. “Shut up and come here,” she beckoned, moving aside and ignoring how pleased she was when the girl nestled in right beside her. Slowly, she unwrapped the burger she was presented with before she made her confession. “There’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight or something… I thought it might be cool to come here to see while all the idiots our age are out partying tonight.”

Tori didn’t even try to hide her smile, turning her head so that her lips brushed against a soft cheek, “You really are a romantic, Jade,” she murmured, and the other girl found herself falling a little deeper into whatever this all was at the golden hue that deep eyes seemed to take on as they reflected the gentle lights surrounding them.

“Shut up and kiss me.”  



	2. Overnight Fame, A Tweet, A Missing Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a prompt from Sparklingstoryinspiration on Tumblr!

It had seemed to blossom into existence overnight, quite literally, Tori had awoken to being in the public's eye over a few posts she had made, and the more time passed, the more recognized her potential was becoming. Sure, it was only internet fame, but there were people out there making millions off of YouTube, so why shouldn't she try? It was fair game, and she had grown into a young woman who would bite back rather than shrink away from challenges. 

People would say she was inspired by Shane Dawson, to which she would roll her eyes and not even grace them with a remark - if they couldn't pay attention to her actual content, why should she pay attention to them?

It had started with one tweet. Twitter had given her witty observations and sometimes snide remarks an audience who, at the very least, seemed to humor her efforts. The previous night, sometime between eating dinner and actually passing out in bed, Tori had made possibly the most important tweet of her life thus far. All it had been was an announcement of her first YouTube video, about a case considered cold.

The young woman's true inspiration had come from a webseries called Carmilla. Yes, she was a lesbian, no there were no vampires, but the plucky determination of Laura had spurred on her own journalism dreams, and perhaps a video format had urged her to try turning to the popular website. What had called to her was also the mystery of missing people, or rather, one missing girl in particular. 

Again, she watched her video with a critical eye and rapt attention, ignoring her notifications for just a little while longer, as if there were a puzzle hidden in her own video that she could find and solve to get her answer. She was new to YouTube, so her opening was short, but she had spent a good amount of time in editing software to make it professional. Then, wasting no time, she had dived right in. 

It began with newspaper clippings and the odd tidbit of news coverage. Everyone cares when a little girl goes missing, but why do they seem to care less when she's a teenager?

_ Oh, she probably just ran away. _

_ Maybe she ran off with a boy. _

They didn't understand though, didn't care to keep searching. All they wanted was to write it off with the delusion of a love story. Hell, even the girl's father was stony and indifferent in interviews -- something she had absolutely touched on. She couldn't begin to count the hours she had spent finding any video coverage of him for the entire year that he'd lost a child, and the whole time he had next to nothing to say on the matter, only that it wasn't something to discuss in an interview. 

The sheer power of Wayne West was enough to make Tori consider making a podcast style effort rather than showing her face, but she wouldn't back down. The man was tied to too many companies, and she considered it a small mercy that he wasn't big enough to have any holding over YouTube. Hell, she wasn't even sure she had been careful enough not to be sued, but it wasn't as though she had anything he could really take from her in a court room. The multitude of businesses he had a high stake in had been something she mentioned, but not focused on, leaving just enough for her viewers to be able to connect the dots should they do a few Google searches. 

The brunt of Tori's work had focused on Jade West herself, the girl who now must be around her own age, who had disappeared just as quickly as Tori had risen to fame. Hell, the young journalist had even hunted down Jade's best friend, which didn't prove too difficult when the redhead turned out to be in her city. That was where she was most careful, gentle in every request for Cat Valentine to recount whatever she could, encourage her to share any theories she might have, but even Cat was running out of hope these days, it would seem. Tori refused to do the same, and so she covered every inch she could, the girl's behavior her entire life (what she could access of it), any social media attention before her disappearance, hell, even had gone so far as to break in somewhere and uncover evidence that the girl had been working on hopeful things she wouldn't just abandon. 

The incessant beeping of her phone caught her attention only after the video had come to an end. Picking it up, the freshes text message stood out from the others. 

Sure, it could have been any idiot with a phone and a cruel sense of humor, but the number it had come from was saved in her phone, one that had been silent for far too long despite an ongoing monologue on Tori's side.

_ Please stop trying to find me.  _

**_Sent: 6:54 AM_ **

**_Jade West_ **


	3. A Cheating Poker-Player, A Golden Key, A Ship

“Oh, piss off,” with much exasperation, the cards were thrown down on the small, round table. “You’re full of shit and you know it, you filthy cheater.” The small woman crossed her arms over her chest, glaring across the table vehemently. 

“Calm down, kitten,” came the chuckle from her teammate, “go check on the crew and I’ll deal with this one.”

“Kay kay.” The words were grumpy, but the slender figure rose and slipped from the small room anyway, leaving the captains alone together. 

Blue eyes regarded brown ones calmly, head tilting to one side, “You really need to stop cheating when we’re playing with Cat, you know,” a hint of a smirk clung to the words.

“I can’t help it, she gets so impassioned by it, it’s adorable, really," Tori grinned, playfully wiggling her eyebrows as her companion rose and circled the table to draw nearer to her. 

"Until she pulls her knife on you," Jade snorted, lowering herself gracefully into Tori's lap A tattooed arm wrapped around the brunette's neck, lazy as its owner moved nearer for a kiss. "What are you playing at, Vega?"

"Wouldn't you just love to know?" Tori was insufferable when she had the upper hand, something that led to many bruising kisses between them even if half the time it was to shut up her smug remarks. Wise enough not to push Jade too far, however, she relented, instead hooking a finger under the cord wrapped around her own neck. "You ever gonna tell me what this is for?" 

With a slow tug, a golden key was pulled from under Tori's shirt, glowing gently in the low lighting of the room. In response, Jade only smiled softly and shook her head in silence, slowly capturing another kiss. "Are some puzzles not more fun to solve on your own,  _ mon amie?" _

A resigned sigh tugged from Tori's lips, but they wore a smile as she claimed another leisurely kiss. "You,  _ amor,  _ are insufferable."

"Shut up and get ready. We're on a sinking ship and our only way out of a watery grave is waiting to be loaded."


	4. A College Campus, An Organization That's a Front For Something SInister, A Storm

Thunder and wind raged outside, rain whipping against the walls of the library where more than a few students were hoping to wait out the violent storm that seemed endless thus far. More distressing than the chance of getting a bit saturated were the posters hanging on the bulletin boards and near the doors, advertising some new after hours organization meant only for the “elite” members of the student body, always stressing that only a limited number of slots were available.

Each poster was equipped with a QR code, but upon scanning it, it would only spit out nonsensical sequences of letters or numbers, sometimes both. There seemed to be about three variations of the results of a scan, though every poster looked nearly identical. If it weren’t for the fact that they were trapped in the library, with nothing to do, as the rain showed no sign of letting up and Jade didn’t quite feel up to being blinded by it, she would have likely never succumbed to her morbid sense of curiosity and turned to Tori, her roommate turned girlfriend.

“Well, you’re a nerd, what do you think the jumbles of letters mean?”

“I’m sorry? That’s literally the first thing you’ve said in an hour after staring at your screen watching random shit, and makes absolutely no sense.” Tori’s voice wasn’t mean or rude, rather amused by the circumstance.

“Haha, fuck off,” those words were far from serious, but they were accompanied by a little push, “the posters. Come on, they’re all over campus, if it were just some stupid prank, they wouldn’t put effort into making different nonsense up, right?”

“Jade, it doesn’t take much effort to make three or four different QR codes and just print different copies, but I suppose you could be right?”

“ _ Anyway,  _ pushing your doubts of me aside, you must have some kind of idea what’s up with the garbage you get when you scan it. You’re like obsessed with that Brazillian kid who’s always cracking codes on YouTube. Sandwich or something like that.”

“Babe, his name is not sandwich, for the hundredth time,” Tori snickered, shaking her head as she rested her cheek on her girl’s shoulder for a moment. “But I mean, you could be right? The issue is almost anything can be some kind of code that has to be cracked.”

A pale arm wrapped around her shoulders, phone in hand as she navigated to one of the pictures a group chat had been sending around to keep track of where posters had turned up. Moments later, the QR code was cut out and scanned, and Tori was passed a screen full of garbled letters and numbers. While her girlfriend feigned a groan, blue eyes could see the underlying excitement in her motions as she opened a new window to study different types of ciphers. Murmuring something about ascii, which Jade vaguely remembered was something people used to make pictures back in the old internet days, Tori was working her own magic and plugging parts of the sequence in, brown eyes so bright and hopeful that she would be correct.

Gently, but with increasing urgency, a tan hand swatted at her lover, growing more and more excited by the second as her efforts proved to yield the results she had hoped for, seconds away from bouncing in her seat as she read aloud what came before a book code. 

“ _ A poem of fading death, named for a king _

_ Meant to be read only once and vanish _

_ Alas, it could not remain unseen.” _

Her discovery was met with a rather blank look, “Vega, I’m thrilled as fuck that your nerdiness is paying off, but what does that even mean?”

“It means,” another voice sounded, a chair pulled out and dropped into, “that you just might have what it takes to join us if you can figure it out.”

Something about that too wide smile and bright eyes made the hairs on the back of Tori’s neck rise, and immediately she was contemplating if getting soaked and a slight cold was really that bad. The hand on her shoulder squeezed reassuringly, the silent reminder that there was always at least one knife in a combat boot should they need it.

“Sorry, have we met?”

In response, a business card was slid across the table, something flickering in those dark eyes before their owner was standing and slipping away again.

“Don’t touch it,” Tori hissed under her breath to Jade, who for once simply obeyed, the printed eyes of the cicada seemly following them as they rose to take their leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from SparkingStoryInspiration on Tumblr as usual, makes references to Cellbit's Cicada 3301 videos.


	5. A Chemistry Class, A Dead Relative, An Idea Unfolding

If there was one thing that Tori could appreciate about Jade, it was that the girl wasn’t big on talking. It also helped that out of everyone, the pale girl was the only one not to offer some awkward apology for her father and his ill-met fate. The papers and even a news station had said it was in the line of duty, but already there were rumors that that was only a cover-up, and that was far from something that Tori wanted to dwell on during class.

“So,” Jade finally broke the silence between them, leaning closer to eye the doodle-filled notebook Tori kept for their chemistry class, a travesty compared to her own meticulous work. “Let’s get this over with, shall we? Red and blue makes purple, what’s to it?”

“Jade if you do that we all might die, there are like four blues and half of them do not like that red.”

A moment of silence followed, as though Jade were actually weighing her options and if she felt lucky enough (or devious enough) to take her chances with probability. Deciding that leaving the other girl to her own devices was a bit dangerous, Tori instead elected to move the beakers away from Jade, nodding to the notebook lying open on the desk between them.

“Come on, I know you’re bored out of your mind, but if I can focus, so can you,” she urged gently, earning a slow look from blue eyes that she couldn’t quite read.

“Yeah… How are you doing, anyway? I’m kind of surprised you showed up at all.” Finally, Jade had taken the steps towards breaching the topic Tori least wanted to get into, but there was typically no dissuading Jade, and no lying to her either, so the singer didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’m fine. I don’t want to just sit around the house, it’s depressing, you know? My mom and Trina are broken up enough about it, and it’s like every time they look at each other, they just see him or something. I just want some time away to clear my head.”

“Fair enough.”

And that was it. With those two words, they fell into their usual routine of Jade gently smacking different things with her pen to a beat Tori would try to guess with mixed success rates while Tori would figure out the objective of their assignment.

Only after that grueling work would they actually get to the “fun” part of chemistry, mixing liquids and hoping for the best. Tori often took that as a chance to infodump, the sound of her own voice enough to fill the silence that started to bother her. Jade had never taken notice of just how much the girl had been paying attention in class lately, how effortlessly the names of different chemicals and elements fell from her lips. Perhaps, if she looked closer at those messy notes, she would have seen a confession doodled in the margins, the recipe for a cocktail that helped David Vega sleep a little too well.

Blue eyes kept returning to the notes, their owner lazily allowing Tori to do as she was, mumbling a question of how Tori could even understand half of her own handwriting as she brought her own pen to the page, absently tracing over lines of the other girl’s doodles. A few circles here, lines there, a hexagon to the left. It all vaguely resembled the jumbled equations their professor had left on the board to remind them not to kill themselves accidentally. Jade wasn’t one to pay strict attention in class, her writing hand seemingly on auto pilot as she took notes and just zoned out, but she could vaguely recall seeing some of these chemicals written out before, maybe just last week. Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen. Jade pulled her own notebook over, flipping back a few pages to find where they had been breaking down the components of various household toxins.

 _Strychnine; pesticides - C_ _21_ _H_ _22_ _N_ _2_ _O_ _2_

Blue eyes returned to Tori, who was still fussing over the measurements, and she casually scooted closer, lips close enough they could almost brush against a tan cheek. “So, your dad really liked his coffee black, right? Nice and bitter. Did it ever give him the shakes?” _After ingestion, the first symptoms to appear are generalized_ _muscle spasms within as little as five minutes._

Tori tilted her head to the side, more captivated by the new tone to Jade’s voice than concerned, not turning her head but meeting her gaze, “You wouldn’t _believe_ how bad they could get.”


	6. A Broken Arm, A Cupcake, A Murder

“Well, Jade, what have you got for me?”

Blue eyes turned to the other woman, who wasn’t quite her superior so much as the undisputed leader of their little team, for some reason. Maybe seniority or something. Jade just accepted it, really, because Tori always brought her an extra large coffee when she appeared.

“Well, between Andre’s postmortem analysis and my own findings, we suspect that the victim’s arm was broken after death, and we found something weird inside the tattoo on the victim’s forearm.” Her focus shifted to her computer screen, pulling up a picture of the ink in question, suddenly able to smell hints of spices and perhaps an exotic flower or two when Tori stepped even closer. Blinking slowly, she nodded to the screen, their arms brushing together as her colleague leaned in for a better look.

“Is that a barcode?”

“Seems to be, Vega. I have a scan of it running, but so far no reader has given me any results.”

Coffee colored eyes acknowledged her statement, regarding her for long moments with the subtle hint of a lazy smirk. Tori always seemed to know more than she was letting on, like she was already twelve steps ahead of you waiting for you to solve the puzzle and catch up, and Jade both loved and hated that in equal measures. “But?” The woman prompted, pulling the scientist from her musings.

“But, it isn’t entirely uncommon for a barcode to actually be hiding some kind of text instead of a miscellaneous product number. I doubt someone of this caliber would just get the barcode for flaming hot cheetos tattooed on themselves, so I’ve reached out to a friend of mine to get access to more programs.”

“That’s my girl,” Tori inclined her head in a nod, “I brought you a present.”

Jade told herself that she perked up with interest over what the present might be and not because of those two little words that never failed to get to her and make her wonder things she didn’t dare to entertain. “Is it my coffee? I’m running low, Vega, need me a refill.”

“Not quite, but I didn’t forget about that.” A sizable styrofoam cup was set down before her, accompanied by a cardboard box with a simple black bow on it. “Give me a call when you have the results for the samples we took ready.” Soft lips brushed her temple, and just like that, Tori was walking away, leaving Jade alone with her devices once again. 

The pale woman put on soft music to mask the monotonous whir of her machines, pulling the box closer to herself and opening it carefully, not quite sure what to expect. Inside, a cupcake with creamy icing and a single bat-shaped chocolate in the center waited for her, a message written on the inside of the lid.

_ Happy Birthday, West. Reconsider that job offer, we’d miss you. _


	7. A Group of Teens on the Run, A Stolen Painting, A Summer Song

“Look, all I’m saying is that this is one of those moments with the potential to change our lives forever, but we have to act now before the fire spreads and responders get here.”

A deep sigh left Beck, his head shaking as he pushed his hair back and looked around the street, “Leave it to you to make it sound like stealing an oil painting is some group bonding exercise.” Despite his own paranoia that they may be caught, a small thrill was running through him as he glanced at Cat, “You in?”

“If I can pick the painting!” The petite girl piped up, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

With a pointed look, Jade grabbed a delicate wrist and started off towards the burning museum. “Robbie can keep watch since his asthma will just make him die. Come on, we want the most expensive piece and we want to get in there before it’s too dangerous. If there are any sirens or flashing lights, Robbie will let us know and we’ll haul ass.”

With that, the danger chaser was striding into the building, the doors buckling too easily and loudly crackling and splintering, leaving her friends to follow behind her for their heist. 

“ _ This ain’t the same summer song that you used to know _ ,” Andre’s voice rose over the radio, his grin audible as Jade playfully pushed him back into the backseat, blue eyes shining as she glanced over to her getaway driver. Leaning close, her own voice joined in for just a line before pressing half a dozen little kisses to a tan cheek.

In the back of the van, the other four members of their group were crammed close together, Cat clutching tight to the most expensive painting their town had known, and all of their clothes smelling like smoke. The museum in the city they were staying in for their little weeklong break had caught fire, and being that the roads were still messed up from the evening’s parade, the little gang had hatched an idea to “rescue” a memento of their vacation together. 

What would they do with the painting? Who could say, really? It wasn’t as though they had things all figured out when Jade had launched into a speech about how they had an opportunity to change their lives forever and solidify an unbreakable bond between them all. Likely, it would end up in one of their bedrooms, making for an unbelievable story that few people would consider, assumed to be a replica of a masterpiece that had tragically burned. 

Radio blaring, the car swept around the twists and turns of a long back road, Tori’s fingers interlocked with pale ones, guiding Jade’s hand to her lips to brush a lazy kiss over her knuckles. “Where to now, kids?” She glanced in the rear-view mirror, still a bit paranoid that they’d get caught at any moment.

“Let’s sell the painting. Then we can afford a real vacation,” one of the boys offered.

“Too risky. I’m pretty sure people have ways of investigating the authenticity of a painting, and it’s going to be too suspicious if we have one that was allegedly burned tonight in a tragic accident. Guess we’ll just have to keep it as a trophy,” Andre shook his head, but seemed far from opposed to the idea. Truthfully, they could all use some extra cash, but selling the painting would be far too obvious.

They were treated to a few minutes of silence apart from the radio before Cat was the one to break the spell. “Well, what about one of those little egg things? The ones with the gold and fancy paint!”

“Yeah, one of those should be simple enough to sell I guess,” Jade offered, glancing back at her best friend. “Why?”

The slender girl’s eyes were bright, expression confused as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Because I have one.” Shimmying a little in her seat to reach into her pocket, she produced the aforementioned egg with an innocent little smile. “See?”

“Cat, you brilliant son of a bitch, I’m going to buy you all the McDonald’s you want.”


	8. A Train, The Sound of Distant Music, Cigarette Smoke

Victoria Vega was on her way to a better life. She was being swept away to be married, to get out of the humble town she had grown up in and away from her family at long last. Not that they were bad people; she loved her family, of course, but she had never been granted a true taste of time away from them. So perhaps it didn’t matter that the best she could offer her to-be husband was a level of fondness. She had been upfront with him about that, and he had said that was enough for him, smitten as he was. 

It was sad in a way, he was a good man, deserving of love, but instead he seemed determined to chase an unrequited passion. Of course, he wasn’t the only one in this situation Tori felt pity for. She wasn’t quite sure she had known love yet in her time in the world, but she knew that what she felt for him wasn’t love. She was in love with having an adventure, a ticket away from the mundane and familiar, in love with the promise of a big home with many rooms to explore and even a library.

The smell of a freshly lit cigarette tickled her nose as she listened to the hazy hum of a distant band playing, a combination that in that moment she decided she loved. Doe eyes slowly scanned the train, though she hardly had to look far when the source strode into view and sat down opposite her. The woman made an imposing figure to say the least, pale as lace with sharp, cunning eyes and full lips. As she settled herself in her seat, she fixed the shimmering fur that was draped around her shoulders, the sparkles in stormy gray fur mesmerizing the young lady and making it difficult to pull her gaze away. Her staring didn’t go unnoticed however.

“Is there something I can aid you with, little fawn?” Every word was spoken deliberately, the pronunciation immaculate, and she lifted the elegant tube holding her cigarette that seemed to match the colour of her eyes to her lips, taking a slow pull from it.

For a moment, Tori was too concerned with watching the smoke curl in the air, rising from those painted lips, to answer, the term making her legs just as weak as a newborn fawn’s. Finding herself again, and chancing a quick glance out the window to see if they were moving yet, she shook her head slowly, “No, sorry. I’m Victoria. But just Tori. Vega.” She hadn’t been asked, but if they were going to be riding the train together, she could at least hope introducing herself would mean a conversation to make the ride a little less tedious.

“Jade West. Charmed, I’m sure.” There was a hint of a smirk to the words, something that made a gentle heat rise to Tori’s cheeks. “You’re travelling alone as well, I take it?”

“Yes. I’m on my way to meet, well, I suppose he’s my fiance. We’re to be wed in a few days and I’ll be living on his father’s old estate with him,” Tori admitted, not sure why she suddenly felt almost ashamed of the admission. She was young and pretty, it was expected of her to be getting married, and to a good man after all.

“You suppose? You certainly lack the glow of a bride-to-be, dear.” The observation was accompanied by a slight tilt of Jade’s head, short hair brushing against her shoulder with the action. 

Being called out like that made Tori look away once again, skin prickling in a mixture of discomfort and shame. "It's not like that. He's a good man."  _ A good man. Good man. Good man. If I repeat those words enough, they'll mean something.  _ "He's very kind and gentle. Charismatic, polite, everything a girl could dream of, really. I'm fortunate." Maybe she could convince herself of that too. 

Her companion, however, didn't look the least bit convinced or swayed. "Yes, I do suppose every little girl grows up dreaming of a charming man who plays it safe and says all the right things and rescues them from their lives. And I suppose when they meet him, they distance themselves by never using his name to refer to him."

Caught red-handed, Tori found her gaze returning to the other woman, "And what of his name?"

"Well, any young bride is eager to brag about her trophy, ' _ oh, he's a doctor, maybe you've heard of him', 'he's so and so from suchforth family' _ . Tell me, what are you leaving behind for a man you don't love?"

"W-wait a second--"

A slow, almost pained sigh slipped those painted lips, Jade shaking her head so slowly. "You look  _ pained  _ to even be discussing him. You don't love him. So what is he saving you from?"

Cheeks burning at being called out, at being judged, at being seen through, Tori's head lowered slightly. "I've never been out of this town. Not even to the city. The same place, the same name, the same life. He isn't an unkind man, and he knows I don't love him, but for him my fondness is enough. His father granted him a beautiful estate we'll live on, and with time, I will learn to love him."

"Oh, dove," the capped woman sounded so, so mournful, as if that actually wounded her to hear. "Being in a pretty cage with a kind master isn't enough. You need to feel the sun on your face and stretch your wings. A bird in a cage will never be free, and will only learn resentment. You'll spend your days reading your books, like the one right beside you, and daydreaming about poisoning him." 

"I would never!" And yet, the thought had already crossed her mind. Not necessarily of killing him, but of his unfortunate death and how she would be the good widow and put on a good show about her sorrow before returning to her large home, all alone and belonging to her. She could never admit that, however. Uncomfortable with all the assumptions being made (correctly) about her, she made an effort to turn the conversation around to Jade. "Anyway, what about you, where are you going?"

The final drag of the pale woman's cigarette preceded her answer, a careless shrug of her shoulders offered in response. "Wherever I please. I haven't decided yet."

There wasn't anything Tori could say in response to that, at least, not that she could think of, but fortunately for her Jade continued. 

"I promised a dear friend I would write, wherever I settle, but I'm a restless soul. Perhaps, in time, I will return to Europe. For now, however, I will content myself with a week here, and a week elsewhere."

A life of travel. That sounded like all the adventure Tori could ever hope for, even if it did intimidate her a bit. "Don't you ever get lonely, not settling anywhere?"

"You meet people, of course. Sometimes you only need a person for a day or two, and they aren't meant to be in your life any longer."

"And the others?"

"The others ask you when you're leaving, where you're going, and spend days telling themselves they'll be happy in a loveless marriage before they see you ready to get off the train, grab your wrist, and ask to join you."


	9. Spilled Ink, History Books, A Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of yesterday's since it was such a hit.

There was very little about Jade that had failed to captivate Tori. Her voice, the lazy way she would dismiss men who approached them in a minute or less, the more proper air about her, and of course, her numerous travels only named a few. It had only been five days since they had met, and two since she had, as predicted by the other woman, deliberately missed her stop. How foolish she would have felt had Jade decided she didn't care for her company enough. 

"Is this something you do frequently?" Tori had asked when they stepped off the train together at a rather small station. "Just acquire traveling companions, I mean."

A low chuckle met the inquiry, those sparkling eyes regarding her with a sideways look. "Not always. After all, it's a dangerous world to travel with a woman who would poison her own husband."

"Jade! I wouldn't do that!!" Tori protested immediately, cheeks hot. "What if someone hears you?!"

"What of it?" The other woman raised her chin, something playful on her lips despite the cold as they began to walk together. "Come now, the motor will arrive shortly to pick us up."

"Where are we going?"

"Do you always ask so many questions?"

The ride was peaceful, even if Tori didn't know where they were going and was seemingly too shy to ask again in front of their driver for fear of seeming foolish or naive. Her gaze took in the expanses of fields out the window until they reached the beginnings of a town. Much to her confusion, they then drove right through it and a couple more miles down the road before a grand building came into view. Jade may not call it a mansion, but that was precisely what it was. 

"Come, I will introduce you to everyone then you may explore." A pale hand was offered to help Tori out of the car, and after accepting it, Tori found herself on her way, the true reality of her situation setting in. 

"Jade, they're going to think I went missing, they'll never hear from me again, maybe eventually even assume that I'm dead."

"Is that not what you want, little fawn?" Curious blue eyes found her. "You were going to marry a man you don't love in order to escape. You simply chose a different escape. And you could always write to them." She didn't ask who the  _ them  _ was. "Do you want to sit out here in the fresh air for a few moments?"

Slowly, the slightly taller woman shook her head, squeezing the hand she had forgotten she was still holding. "No. Thank you, but, I'd rather just get inside and lie down in a proper bed after the past few nights."

"As you wish."

With that, they went inside, Jade introducing Tori to the care takers of the home and to a handsome young man to whom she simply referred to as "a dear friend from London" who had been looking after things while she was away. André offered a warm smile, shaking Tori's hand and asking about their trip. 

"I'm sorry, André, but allow me to show our guest to her room and then we may catch up. You know how horrid sleeping on a train can be."

"Of course. Tori, I look forward to talking to you more." His warm hand patted hers before Jade was escorting her down the hall, doors on either side of them as they walked in silence. It would seem that Tori had run out of questions for her hostess for the time being, too preoccupied with her own worries now. Her questions from outside were far from forgotten as she sank down into the blankets, closing her eyes for long moments to welcome rest. 

Tori couldn't remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes after a slow blink, night had fallen and the room had darkened. Rising to her feet, the young woman made her way out to the hall. The house was quiet, but lights here and there glowed gently, assuring her she was not the only one awake. In an attempt to remember her way back to the parlour, she navigated the corridors only to stumble upon an open door.

Inside, Jade sat at an old desk, leaned forward in her chair with a candle burning beside her as she wrote. Curious, her guest approached, making sure her footfalls were audible so as not to startle Jade. As she neared the desk, she found three hefty tomes open and resting on it, opened to maps and various paragraphs about conflict. 

"Are you studying?" Tori asked softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful ambiance that the other woman had created too much. 

"Not quite, no. More like planning." Jade's voice was slow and thoughtful, calm and easy, but Tori still didn't get the impression she was allowed to ask what. 

"You have beautiful penmanship," Tori offered instead, mesmerized for a moment as she watched ink scrawl across the page. Leaning closer, she let out a yelp when she stumbled, the chair she had been bracing herself on giving way, and as she moved a hand to catch herself, she knocked over both ink bottle and candle. A series of choice words fell from her lips, along with countless apologies for ruining the papers. 

Jade remained calm as she righted the bottle, right up until the flame spread to the dry pages and threatened to take to her sleeve as well. Only then did she laugh, quickly grabbing at the pillow between her back and the chair to extinguish the flames with. 

"There's never going to be a dull moment with you around, is there, Tori Vega?"


	10. A Closed SHop, A Missing Person, A Notebook Full of Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of chapter 2!

The message had left Tori shaken for a couple days, enough so that she almost didn’t make any more posts about her video and promises of a possible second one to come. She couldn’t allow herself to let this go, however, too tangled up in the strings she herself was connecting. She needed somewhere peaceful and quiet to study the only clue she had but hadn’t yet touched, the notebook from Jade’s belongings, and so she had found herself walking to the old used book store a few blocks down from her own home. The elderly woman who owned it was nice enough, as was her cat that roamed the shelves and slept in a basket on the counter, but she was also forgetful.

This wasn’t the first occasion Tori had found herself locked in after closing time when she got too absorbed in something, tucked out of view, but it was the first time she didn’t call the old woman or immediately take her leave. Instead, she took peace in the solitude and curled herself into an oversized chair, taking a moment to steady her shaking fingers.  _ Please stop trying to find me.  _ The words kept replaying in her thoughts, making her stomach churn. What could be so bad that Jade wouldn’t want to be found? Was it even Jade who’d sent that? Who had her phone?

No answers came to her, so she turned to the only place Jade may have left some clues behind for her. The first few pages were half-sentences scrawled out quickly before they could be forgotten and idle doodles. Tori studied every inch of each page, even when it was just notes on a school project. More often than not, Jade talked about a personal project of hers, and by the time Tori was about a quarter of the way through the notebook, the personal project of Jade’s had taken over. Every page was dedicated to it from there on, neat notes met with carefully drawn thumbnails. 

From what she could gather, the project was a horror feature, though she wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a novel or a screenplay. Each character had a few sketches and even a couple names or instagrams listed to help visualize how Jade had envisioned them. She wouldn’t be this thorough with something then just leave it behind if she left willingly, right? Tori was about to skip around to try and see if the plot could tell her anything when she noticed a little symbol, almost a rune or glyph or some kind, under the first word in every paragraph. Turning back a few pages, it seemed to be a trend that had started only when the notebook was dedicated in full to this project, and Tori opened a blank note on her phone to record the words, feeling a bit silly for doing so but unable to resist hoping it might mean something. 

By the time Tori did reach the pages where the plot was laid out in detail, she had a long message of gibberish strung together on her phone. Sighing and setting the device down for now, she skimmed through the plot line to try and make herself feel better for chasing a dumb idea. Her busy mind wouldn’t let her focus enough to actually comprehend what she was reading, however, and she flipped back to the page where the first symbol appeared, studying the dumb little thing for a good minute before realizing it wasn’t under the first word, just a letter of it.

“Jesus fuck,” she grumbled at herself, unable to believe she had wasted so much time chasing the wrong lead when it was right in front of her. Erasing all the jumbled nonsense of her previous attempt, she began again, taking note of each letter this time around. Tucking a bookmark into the page where the plot was, she continued on this way until she reached the last page with writing on it, not horribly far away from where she had stopped reading.

_ Today he said he’s going to kill me. Today he meant it. Tomorrow he’ll try again. Tonight I’m in someone else’s bedroom and this morning I found the paperwork. Ouroboros. They eat. They eat you. They eat you and you cease to be you. Who will I be when they eat me? _


	11. A Movie Theater, A Stolen Book, Heavy Rain

The theater was always quiet on Tuesday nights, but Tori had expected to sell more than just one ticket to the showing of their feature film for the evening. The only customer she'd seen, she could only describe as a bad bitch. Long black curls were shaved away on one side of her head, ink decorating a pale temple and reaching to her scalp. Soaked from the downpour outside, she’d been wrapped in a dark denim jacket, with an ear full of piercings and a strip of flesh showing above the waistband of dark jeans. Tori had a rather vivid memory of the girl because, as she let herself “sneak” into the theater, she found that the stranger was the only one occupying a seat in front of the large screen. So badly, she wanted to approach and crack a joke, asking if the seat next to her was taken, but instead the gay mess decided to get settled a few seats down from her and try to enjoy the movie she had already seen a good couple of times. 

Barely a minute had passed before an almost comically oversized tub of popcorn was extended her way, shaken lightly to get her attention. Timidly, Tori’s fingers descended to scoop a handful of the buttery treat, offering a bright smile and scooting one chair closer to make herself heard.

“Thank you. Should have brought my own but I didn’t want Greg to catch on to where I was going.”

“Hell yeah, fuck Greg.” The response she received was enthused enough to make her laugh quietly.

“He’s a nice guy, just wouldn’t approve of me, you know, not doing my job,” Tori said, shaking her head as she popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

“What good is working at a movie theater if you can’t sneak off and watch a movie from time to time? Especially when it’s dead like this.”

Well, she had a point there. 

“I’m Tori.”

“I know.” The screen illuminated half of Jade’s face, showing a playful smirk on full lips. “Jade,” she added after making Tori wait for another moment.

They fell into a companionable silence then, both pairs of eyes turned towards the large screen once again. Only after the credits rolled and the lights came on did Tori realize her companion had already busied herself in another form of media. Leaning closer, she peeked down at the top of the page the book was opened to to get the title.

“The movie was better, so far,” Jade remarked. “If I had paid for this, I would be pretty angry,” she shook her head, tucking the paperback into an inside pocket of the jacket and looking expectantly to Tori. “Well, what can a girl do around here while she waits out the storm?”

Suddenly, Tori’s throat was dry as those blue eyes held her own captive. “Well, I can take you to a movie and get you half off any other snacks you want?”


	12. An Art School, A Starry Night, Empty Beer Bottles

Santa Fe was a lonely but beautiful place. Tori had moved out there only a year ago for school, and she presently resided in a small but cozy dorm, lucky enough to have it to herself when her roommate transferred schools. It would seem art school wasn't for everyone, but it was, without a doubt, Tori's passion. Every assignment, no matter how challenging, was met with enthusiasm, even if it were more mundane than exciting. Countless hours were spent drawing forms and sketching shapes during the day, while night was for her digital artwork. Despite the enjoyment she gleaned from her classes and classmates, she was hopelessly lonesome. So when Jade offered to swing by for a visit, she wasn't about to complain. 

The text that announced her friend's arrival came a good hour and a half after night had fallen, and Tori grabbed her keys and slipped her tablet into her bag before heading out to the lots to meet her. She hadn't questioned why Jade wanted to drive for two days just to come visit, and perhaps she had been too desperate for company to ask and have Jade withdraw completely and change her mind. Walking outside, she found the familiar black car with its lights on and strode over, letting herself into the passenger seat. 

"Hey," she offered a bright smile, "thank you for coming, I've been going crazy out here."

Jade lifted a shoulder as she shook her head, "I can see why, there's nothing until you hit the city and this place is even a bit secluded. Come on, we're going on a Taco Bell run before we get to the main event?"

"What's the main event?" 

"Taco Bell and alcohol in the desert."

"Right. Where the lizards and snakes are." Tori rightfully sounded less than excited about the idea, but maybe the night would make it cold enough to keep the animals at bay. That's how it worked, right? She hadn't really strayed from campus during her stay yet, and maybe this was a good opportunity to finally do so. 

A quick glance to Jade revealed that the other girl was amused - of course she was - as she navigated them back to the main roads. Their hangouts usually had gone like this, getting food then going on some adventure Jade already planned ahead, but it had been far too long since they'd done something like this for Tori's liking. She didn't risk getting sentimental on her friend and sharing that, however, so she simply turned the radio up high and leaned back in her seat. 

Only when the backseat was full of two big bags of fast food did the driver seem content with her life choices leading up to this moment. They took an exit off the highway that seemed completely random to Tori, the familiar sights fading away until they were left with only sand, and after a good while of this, Jade turned from the road to park the vehicle. Making herself useful, Tori slipped out and to the backseat to get their food only to find a couple six packs awaiting them as well. 

"Did you--? Are you trying to get me drunk?" An amused grin was offered up, brown eyes sparkling as Jade rolled her eyes and collected two of them. 

"Yup. Gonna get you wasted then bury you up to your neck in the sand and drive home." A foot pushed the door closed before she turned, striding out into the sand and chilly air, leaving no option for Tori but to follow her. 

Tori was the one to spread out the soft blanket they they settled into, each sitting cross-legged as one by one, items were removed from paper bags. A bottle of beer was opened and passed over to Tori, who waited for Jade to open her own before lightly clinking them together and taking her first sip, followed almost immediately by half of a taco. 

"God, food is so fucking good, I might love you right now." Even though the words were in heat, Tori's cheeks heated gently at them, her crush on the snarky girl having never really gone away. 

"I know you do," Jade simply answered, unwrapping her own food and taking just as monstrous of a bite. "So what's your fancy art school like?"

This began their little question game, which soon turned into truth or drink, which turned into truth  _ and  _ drink. They had reached the end of the second six pack when Jade was kicking off her boots and letting her feet rest on the cool sand, fingers idly combing through it as she studied Tori, the girl lying beside her, brunette waves sprawled across the blanket as those rich coffee eyes counted the stars above. Blue eyes closed against the gentle spinning of the world, a lazy, hazy warmth spreading through her body as her fingers laced with Tori's. 

"It feels like I'm going to float away," she murmured, eyes slowly opening to take in the bottles littering the space between them. 

A gentle laugh reached in her ears, sinking into her chest. "I won't let you go anywhere, Jade, don't worry." Tan fingers squeezed pale ones reassuringly, soft lips brushing against the girl's temple. 


	13. An Old Classic, A Headache, Blushing Cheeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another continuation of 1920s Jori

After nearly burning the house down, Tori had elected to keep somewhat of a low profile as she acquainted herself with Jade’s residence. The other woman seemed more amused than distressed by the incident, and was allowing Tori to explore at her own pace. Today, the brunette had decided to sun herself out in the yard, curled up like a little feline under a tree with a novel she had found in Jade’s library. The well-loved title bore a name she had heard many, many times, but had never quite gotten around to reading herself just yet, and there was no time like the present to change that. The only problem was that the author was overly fond of describing the setting rather than the people, and would often turn introspective in the middle of the tale.

Tori made an admirable attempt, reading chapter five before her head was throbbing with the beginning of a headache. A soft groan left her lips, the book tucked gently aside as she turned her focus to the sky, counting clouds and trying to just enjoy the fresh air. It was different, being so far away from everything she knew, in a place where she didn’t really know anything or anyone, yet, this was precisely what she had asked for. Wasn’t it? Getting married would have put her in the same predicament but she would have lost a good deal of freedom to do as she pleased and have no one to answer to. Here, at least, she was given little to no boundaries (apart from kindly trying not to set the house ablaze again) and Jade seemed content to welcome her company whenever their paths crossed.

Such as now, for example. The pale woman was striding past with an arm full of parchment rolls and books, only to stop short and take in the sight of the woman sprawled so carefree on the lawn. Setting her supplies down carefully, she prowled over with all the silence of a house cat stalking a mouse, leaning down to come into Tori’s field of vision. 

“What have we here?” Blue eyes took in the girl, then the book beside her, reaching the conclusion in little to no time at all. “You enjoy suffering far too much if that’s the first book you chose. I can never make it through more than two of his chapters in a sitting without needing something for my head. I think I would much rather Agatha Christie’s works.”

"It was one of the first titles my gaze swept across, and it's so well spoken of…" Tori trailed off with a rueful shake of her head. An eyebrow slowly rose when her companion cocked her head to one side, as though studying her as she sat down. "Yes?"

"Scholars like sounding smart so they read what will impress their educators. Normal folk read what they damn well please." Jade's voice carried a hint of amusement, and she leaned down closer, their noses nearly brushing. "While you're clever enough to be a scholar, read whatever you want."

Tori knew the other woman didn't miss the way her flesh flushed at both their sudden proximity and the compliment. Before she could stammer out a response, however, Jade was already turning to retrieve her work and resume her day.


	14. Matching Tattoos, A Rivalry, Driving Too Fast in the Dead of the Night

"I can't believe I let you talk me into such a lame tattoo, Vega." There was a smirk in Jade's words, knowing she would get to the other girl with them. 

"They're not lame!! They're cute and reminded me of us so shut up!" Tori's voice carried a hint of a pout, however. "I even had them put your dragon claws on the tattoo."

That was true. On Jade's right wrist and Tori's left, matching brand new tattoos were being meticulously studied in the light of Jade's truck. The design was simple enough, two hands making a pinky promise - one with longer, pointed nails, and the other with Tori's little pinky tattoo, leaving little doubt as to who it represented. 

The idea had begun as a joke when they were smoking one night, but it had never completely gone away, and when Jade was the one to mumble that her guy would give them a deal on it, Tori knew she had found something meaningful to them both. 

"I've still got more than you," Jade grinned, giving her girlfriend's side a gentle nudge with her elbow. "Catch up, kid."

"It isn't my fault you have like fourteen by now!" Tori laughed softly, hooking Jade's pinky with her own to pull her girl's hand to her lips so that she could press a little kiss to her knuckles. "I want more, I just can't decide where! I don't want to sabotage my future ideas, okay?"

"God, you're so stupid and adorable." Jade shook her head as if in disgust, passing what remained of her coffee over for the other girl to finish. "Where to now?"

"Well," that dumb, infectious smile spread over Tori's expression, " _ someone _ promised me a weekend getaway at the lake because, and I quote, ' _ the beach is overrated' _ ." 

"You remember that, huh? I was hoping the excitement of the tattoo would make you forget," Jade teased but put the car in drive. 

There were few things in the known universe that Tori enjoyed more than cuddling up against Jade's side as they drove around, closing her eyes and singing with their playlists between stolen pecks. When Jade hit the gas was a close second though, the truck sweeping up hills and threatening to leave the ground before descending down the other side. It all felt like a roller coaster, which was how Jade made her feel. There were ups and downs and the scariest part had been the anticipation, and the writer always surprised her with a sudden twist or surprise and sometimes it felt like she was turning Tori's whole world upside down. 

Hooded eyes watched the needle climb into the red, listened to the wind whip outside until she turned the radio up to drown it out. Throwing her head back, she screamed with the music, startling Jade a bit but not enough to kill them, before dissolving into a fit of giggles, so light and free. A tan hand squeezed her girlfriend's thigh, soft lips pressing countless kisses to her shoulder. 

"Run away with me."

"Isn't that what we're doing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, me and my fiancee have the tattoos inspiring this. 💙


	15. A Car Accident, Time Travel, A Strong and Familiar Smell

The scent of burning rubber and smoke was so strong Tori kept choking on it, eyes watering as her chest heaved with a rough cough.  _ This must be it _ . It wasn't the most appropriate or typical thought to have in the immediate seconds following a crash, but it was honest and the first thing to come to her thoughts.

It was a challenge to get her eyes to focus and not just close again, too many smells and sounds overwhelming her senses. Someone was screaming, but it felt so far away. It sounded so far away. Turning her head finally, she took in the font of the other car, or what its remains were, where the driver seat of the vehicle she was in should be. Jade's body was warm against hers, something sticky clinging to her arm, rolling down to her fingers. She knew the outcome without taking another breath.

She couldn't remember how many times she had already done this, and she wouldn't remember why she had done it, but she had to try again. "One more time," she whispered, kissing her girl's temple before activating. 

Tori woke up with a start, not remembering her dream but knowing that somehow, her alarm had been incorporated into it. Slipping from bed, she went to the bathroom to wash her face and study the mirror carefully for any hints she had done this before. The only thing that came was an unnerving sense of deja vu, and she could only hope that as the day continued she would figure it out. 

Everything persisted as she ate breakfast, went about her morning routines, showered, and waited around on the couch for her girlfriend to come pick her up for their errands. A touch late, but making up for it with an extra large hot chocolate, Jade soon came to the door, pushing it open and greeting Tori with a chaste kiss.

That's when it all really felt familiar, the dizzy, sickeningly sweet taste in the back of her throat, the churn in her stomach, letting her know something was amiss and to pay attention. Her discomfort must have shown, because Jade noticed and pulled her to the couch. 

"You good? We can stay in instead if you want. The stores will still be there tomorrow," Jade pointed out, all but pushing her lover to lie down before settling in with her. 

"Do I even have a choice in the matter?"

"Nope." Jade popped the p just to irritate her, but Tori hid a smile against the pillow, so in love with this idiot. So relieved that the feeling had faded away.  _ I don't know what happened but we did it. I'm going to keep you safe.  _


	16. A Match, A Secret Society, A Missing Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Missing!Jade

Striking a match, shaking fingers lit the stove to boil some water for tea before Tori sat back down with her laptop at the table. She had rushed home to try and glean anything she could about what in the fuck Jade might have been talking about. Was it just part of the story? She didn't think so, or at least, she didn't want to think so.  _ Who will I be when they eat me?  _ The words kept playing in her thoughts, but she forced herself to start elsewhere. 

Oroboros was the snake from mythology that ate its own tail, or so Google had told her on the quick ride home.  _ They eat _ . Who was this they, however? The internet only seemed to be mentioning one snake in particular, and it wasn't for a good couple of pages that she found a Reddit thread seemingly asking about a company sharing the same name. From what she could tell from the post, it was a plastic surgery type of deal, but the original poster was having issues finding any website for it despite swearing that they could recite one of the advertisements from heart due to how absurd it was. 

Perhaps that's when Tori decided to dig deeper and prod at the dark web. In addition to all the illegal shit that made it famous, those parts of the web offered journalism articles and stories that she wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. Only after she had her tea ready did she take the necessary precautions and dive in, a pen and a few sheets of paper beside her for her to record anything on. Searching 'oroboros' yielded… too many results, so she took a leap of faith and added 'plastic surgery' to her search. 

Those results were much more specific, though less numerous, and Tori rested her chin on the heel of her palm as she began to sift through. The first few results were all forums of people raving about just how phenomenal the results were, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose at how downright  _ predatory _ some of these people sounded.  _ He's going to kill me. _ She glanced to the notebook again, rereading the message she had pencilled in from the code. Who was going to kill her? For the time being, she could only vaguely assume Jade's father was the "he" in question, given his attitude during any interviews she had been able to find and what she could remember of Jade's remarks towards him. 

The next line actually made her shiver, closing her eyes to clear her thoughts and try to relax.  _ Today he meant it. Tomorrow he'll try again.  _ Had the girl's father actually tried to kill her? What could link him to this company? A frustrated little sound left her lips before her next sip of tea, actually needing to rise and pace a little to dispel some of her restless energy. 

"Okay. You can do this," she told herself aloud, raking her fingers through her hair to push it from her face. Sinking back into her chair, she forced herself to read through more of the disgusting success stories before she finally found someone linking to the actual website. 

It seemed professional enough, not unlike any other surgeon's website, and she clicked on the "About Us" tab, scrolling down slowly and trying not to pay too much attention to the unnerving quality in some of the pictures included, not wanting to give them her full attention just yet. 

_ Founded in the early 1980's, we are committed to bringing to life the vision you always had in mind when you started a family or relationship. Our team of surgeons is very professional and discreet, understanding the importance of this matter. Many of our qualified surgeons have had loved ones who have undergone the procedure and can answer any questions you may have.  _

_ We offer very affordable consultations where you will provide us with the image of the patient and some references of your vision. Together we will create a 3D HD model of the end result. Once you agree upon it, we will discuss our various packages and pricing. Unfortunately financing is not available at this time.  _

_ The surgeries are broken up over the span of three months as to allow the body to heal between them without overwhelming it. During this healing is when the mental retraining will occur. Our on staff therapists become the patient's safe place and gain the ability to plant the correct method of thinking (provided by you when you drop them off for surgery) into their vulnerable state of mind.  _

_ We will only release the patient when the training has been completed, as per our satisfaction guarantee. The entire process on average takes four months to complete. _

"What the fuck?" Tori didn't realize she had said it aloud until the words were breaking the silence. Her hands were shaking, and she felt sick. She didn't know what churned her stomach more, having context to what those disgusting posts had been about, or the final words written in the notebook;  _ who will I be when they eat me? _

She knew. Jade knew. Tori still didn't know the most important answers though. What exactly were her father's intentions, and was Jade still even Jade?


	17. A Coffee Shop with a Reputation for Hosting the Paranormal, A Writer Just Trying to Hit it Big, At Least Four Cats

Jade had been visiting the local coffeeshop for weeks now, ever since she had moved to the area. Its reputation piqued her interest first, allegedly haunted and displaying an assortment of the occult in terms of decor. Hell, they even had a weekly tarot night where different readers would come by. Despite all of this, it didn't seem to be too popular a place, and Jade could only presume that was because of the older population in the area. Or because there were about eight cats there at any given time, sometimes more. 

"You're back!" A voice sounded as she slipped through the door and closed it behind her. 

"Why do you say that every day?" Jade shook her head in mild amusement as she went to her usual table to deposit her bag in her chair. The table in question was an old coffee table, and the chair was old leather, elegant and comfortable simultaneously. 

"Because no one comes here everyday!"

"Well, guess I'm no one then."

"That's not true! You're gonna make it big one day and even Stephen King is going to be talking about you." 

"Thank you, Tori." A small smile was offered to the spectre before Jade turned to the counter to collect her coffee and something to eat. Today's option was a large brownie with peanut butter icing smeared on top, and when she turned back around after paying, the rather cheeky ghost was poking through her bag curiously, as was tradition.

"You know," Jade took her mug and plate and started back to her chair, "there are these things called boundaries."

"Friends don't have those, Jade."

"Oh, so we're friends now?" Amusement coloured her voice as she sat down, bag moved away from the ghost and onto the floor. "I thought you were mad at me because Smokey likes me better."

The plump feline in question was already making his way over to see if his favorite human had brought him any treats today, and Tori pouted a little. "I'm not super enthused about it, but it's important that he makes corporeal friends!" 

Jade could only shake her head and give the boy some fond scratches before pulling a small catnip toy out for him as an offering towards their friendship. Watching him bat it a few feet away, she sank back into her chair and pulled a notebook from her bag, flipping open to a clean page and slowly decluttering her mind to the low background murmur of activity, Tori draped over the arm of her chair to watch curiously and learn about her day. 

That was typically how Jade spent her evenings, hanging out with a ghost that knew more about her than her best friend, really, and petting miscellaneous cats between bites of fresh baked goods. 

"You know," Tori spoke again only when Jade's current activity was finished. "If you find what's tying me here, I could come hang out at your place sometime." 

"Whoa, you already know too much about me, and now you wanna move in with me? What, do you like me or something?" Jade teased quietly, blue eyes shining, only to be taken aback by the soft smirk that remained on the spectre's lips. "That's kind of gay, Vega."

"You're one to talk," Tori snorted and shook her head. "Come on, I'm tired of hanging around here all the time. Just help me find my knife and I'll be free to see the world again."

"Alright, alright," Jade sighed and stood up slowly, "let's go find this shit." 


	18. A Lost Dog, A Scarf, An Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the NCIS inspired drabble

“Look at this dumb, happy face, Vega. How can you possibly say no?”

“I’m looking at your dumb face and saying no,” Tori couldn’t resist answering with a barely suppressed grin. “Someone is bound to be searching for this dog, it’s healthy, clean, friendly, it’s obviously someone’s pet.”

“Have I mentioned what a buzzkill you are?” The forensic scientist grumbled as she adjusted the scarf around her neck, giving the friendly canine a few more scratches before standing once more. “Why is she in my lab if we can’t keep her?”

“Because it’s below freezing and I got you extra coffee,” the other woman responded, tapping the sizable paper cup she had placed on her colleague’s desk minutes prior and arching an expectant eyebrow, a silent warning not to keep pushing today. "So enjoy your new assistant and please get me those results you promised me?"

A begrudging nod was offered up, earning a pale cheek a soft kiss as the woman checked up on the results again. "The scan will be done in literally two minutes, you may as well just hang around."

Blue eyes lingered on her… not quite superior, but sometimes it felt that way. Not because she ever really had to answer to Tori Vega, it was their  _ job  _ to work together to solve investigations, so why wouldn't she want to cooperate? No, it had more to do with the very essence of Tori. When the other woman walked into a room, everyone stopped, breath hitching in their throats with anticipation and just a twinge of fear before coffee colored eyes moved on. It was something Jade had pulled off in high school, and could probably still manage to this day, but didn't put effort into anymore. Now, as those eyes watched her sift through various ongoing tests and scans on her monitor, the scientist was almost tempted to question why. 

"Well," Tori's hands rested on the countertop, on either side of Jade, effectively keeping her in place. "I suppose I do have a tendency to rarely say no to you, don't I?"

"And you would hate to ruin that," Jade murmured, smirking to herself as she leaned forward to brush their lips together before a cold nose was pushing insistently at their knees for attention, an elegant paw coming up to demand pats. 

"Your assistant wants you," Tori pointed out, even as she pressed a firmer kiss to full lips.

"I'm in high demand today."

"Just like those results."


	19. A Worried Mother, A Warring Friend Group, A Missing Person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Missing!Jade AU

"Seriously, guys, it's just cruel to give the poor woman more hope like this. Let her have some fucking peace for Christ's sake!" Beck crossed his arms as he leaned back against the doorframe, everything in his body language clearly against this idea. "She's spent years searching and mourning and grieving and you just want to make her rip that wound open again? We all miss her, but we can't do this to her mother."

"Shut up for a second, if Tori's actually onto something, then Jade's mom deserves to know she's not, you know,  **dead** like we've all been assuming without admitting out loud." Even now, André had his best friend's back, debating hotly with one of his other closest friends. 

"Onto something with what? Jade did random shit in her notebooks all the time. Who exactly do you think she left some secret code behind for to find?" Robbie took his boyfriend's side, voice not aggressive but insistent on its own way. 

"Herself." When Cat finally spoke, she felt all eyes on her, and she met none as she hugged her giraffe closer. It was dumb, but it was from when she had insisted on dragging Jade to the fair and bugging the girl to win it for her. "If she knew it was going to happen, she would know she'd be looking through her notebooks. She always picked out details and patterns. Who else could it be for?"

Tori sighed, resting her forehead on her palms and closing her eyes to try and clear her head. "Look. I really think talking to her might be worth it. She deserves to know. It's my decision, I'm doing it. Like it or not." 

With that, she rose from where she was seated on the floor, knuckles white from her grip on the notebook. "Cat, you can get in touch with her and tell her I'd love to take up her invitation to come by. Please."

Two hours later, they were pulling Trina's car up outside a rather average and plain looking apartment. Triple checking the number on the mailbox, Tori got out of the car and started up the stairs, suddenly very aware of the potential consequences of what she was doing. She trusted Cat, so she didn't expect that Jade's mom would actually be in on this whole thing somehow, but that paranoia lingered in the back of her thoughts. When the door opened, she was struck with the image of how she could only assume Jade would look in about twenty years, if she had blonde hair. 

"Tori?" Blue eyes were wary, but held a glimmer of hope in them. She stepped aside slowly, calming as she recognized the redhead she was accustomed to seeing. "Please, come inside. I'll make you coffee or tea and we can talk. I'm Celeste."

The brunette nodded, offering a gentle smile and her hand, "It's really nice to meet you, thanks for inviting me over."

The door was closed and without another word, Celeste was off to the kitchen as a greyhound padded out to greet their guests. Fawning over the dog, Tori took her time looking around the living room, taking in what scarce pictures hung on the walls. Only when the older woman returned did Tori take a seat on the couch with Cat, nervously fidgeting with a corner of the notebook in her lap. 

"I wanted to come here because I, ah…" Her words wouldn't cooperate, throat tightening. "I um, I think I found something that could be important to the investigation.". Could it still even be called an investigation if the only one working on it was someone just breaking into YouTube and inspiring one or two articles to remember the case?

"Go on, what is it?" The woman was tense, back rigid as her gaze remained on her guests, something about those hard eyes making Tori think of an owl cornering a mouse. 

Swallowing thickly, and taking a small sip of tea, Tori opened the notebook, not yet bothering to explain her method for finding the code when the message itself was much more important. "I think Jade knew something was wrong. That she was going to disappear. This message is weird, but please look at it." Only when Celeste obliged did she continue. "There's a plastic surgery company by that name. Oroboros, I mean. Um. I don't know what paperwork she found, but I came across their site after some digging, and…" Tori trailed off again, taking the pages she had printed out carefully. 

"I know." Celeste's voice was eerily calm, and at first Tori didn't notice the way her chin quivered, or the way the coffee in her grasp threatened to spill. "I know what they are. But no one would believe me." 

"Wait, what?" That hit the girl like a punch in the chest, tea set back on the table immediately. "How did you-? Where could-? Where is this place?" She kept cutting herself off with new questions. 

"They have locations in Nevada and Arizona. I've been there." 


	20. Impossible Homework, A Text Sent to the Wrong Person, A Broken Friendship

An audible groan broke the peace of the dorm room, where a small friend group had gathered together to brainstorm on their homework assignment, which was proving to be much more difficult than they'd initially thought. "This is hopeless, I give up," Tori announced, pushing the textbook away from herself so she could rest her face on the bed and mumble unhappily into her girlfriend's sheets. Said girlfriend only rubbed her shoulder soothingly as she kept at the page in front of her. 

_ Maybe if Cat would actually do something instead of just playing with her phone and eating candy we could get somewhere, but what do I know? _

Tori shot bolt upright when the chime of Cat's phone sounded instead and Jade's did, in fact, not vibrate. Her thoughts were a stream of 'no's as she frantically double checked her own phone. 

"Really, Tori?" Cat was on her feet now, bristling as she read the message a second time, looking around their friend group. "Is that how you feel then? Jade, do you agree? You know what, it's clear you guys don't want me in here." The redhead gave no time for any of her questions to be answered before she was storming out, leaving all eyes on Tori. Jade didn't say anything at first, just took her girlfriend's phone gently to read what had caused the damage. A deep sigh left her, shaking her head ever so slightly and pressing a kiss to the brunette's temple. 

"Babe…" Jade trailed off, well aware of the presence of their other friends and not wanting to make a scene, but clearly not appreciating how the whole matter was approached, let alone how it had ended. Unfortunately for her, there didn't seem to be an end to the assignment, her book only closing when she realized it was past two in the morning and the boys had already fallen asleep. 

"I'm sorry, I was just frustrated and-" Tori cut herself off when her lover only shook her head. Waiting for Jade to speak, she felt even worse when the pale girl only moved to curl up under the blankets. 

"Let's just sleep. It's late." 

The words didn't make her feel any better. She knew Cat was a delicate subject, and normally she wouldn't have said anything, but how could it possibly seem fair that the redhead wasn't doing any of the work? Trying not to feel so dejected, Tori put her own notes away and joined her girl, tucking herself against a pale back gently and wrapping a protective arm around Jade's waist. 


	21. A Black Tattoo, A Grave That's Never Visited, A Car Ride

"I still don't get why you're obsessed with this creepy old house that, and I cannot stress this enough,  _ someone probably lives in." _ Tori's eyes didn't leave the window, counting the mailboxes that were growing further and further apart the closer they came to the base of the hill. "Seriously, why do you have to involve me on your trespassing mission?" She didn't mind the crime itself, it was the risk of someone catching them and deciding to call the police about two complete strangers on their property. 

"I come here all the time, we'll be fine," Jade said without even looking the other girl's way. The headlights were turned off, leaving them under the silver glow of the swollen moon as the vehicle inched closer and closer to the delicate old gate standing between them and their event for the night. 

She ignored whatever Tori's words were in favor of turning the car off and getting out, shutting the door as silently as possible. Waiting a bit impatiently for her companion, she reached into her bag for the bouquet of fake flowers and finally faced the singer. "Let's go," she murmured, grabbing a tan wrist and leading her through a gap in the fence. In the darkness, the graves all threatened to melt together, yet somehow the writer navigated her way to a specific one perfectly. 

It wasn't particularly old, but the lack of care implied it belonged to no one important, or at least no one with family members. Brown eyes watched Jade settle herself on the soft grass in front of it, carefully raking away and digging at the overgrown earth until the plate in the ground was no longer covered up. Only then was the bouquet laid down, blue eyes finally finding Tori. 

"My birth mom died giving birth to me, this is her parents' property or something." She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a simple black and white tattoo of a dragon and a date in roman numerals. "Maybe twice a year I come out to visit her grave and leave her something nice. Sometimes I come more often, sometimes less. Her parents don't really care for me but if they don't catch me they can't do anything about it."

"Jade, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Shut up and let's get out of here, Vega." 


	22. An Old Wedding Ring, A Museum After Midnight, An Email From an Old Friend

Jade waited anxiously inside the lobby for her girlfriend to appear, not sure how long she could keep this up before her nerves got the best of her. She shifted from one foot to the other, checking the clock yet again before a tap on her shoulder made her jump and immediately smack at the giggling offender.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist!” Tori whispered, despite them being quite literally the only people in the museum at two in the goddamn morning. “What did you want to show me?”

Only when her heart calmed back down to a normal speed did Jade grace her girl with an answer. “Follow me.” With those two words, she set off down the hall to the dinosaur exhibit. Tori was in love with the ancient, almost mythical, creatures. It had been one of their first bonding activities: Jade dealing with a sick Tori wanting to watch every fucking Land Before Time movie that they could in a weekend, which turned out to be quite a bit. With the newest addition to the museum and newest scientific discoveries circulating, Jade knew she wouldn’t get a better time for this. She had emailed her sister about their mother’s old wedding ring the second she read the article.

“You know that raptor dragon thing they found a few days ago?”

“ Wulong bohaiensis,” Tori answered immediately, clearly having kept up to date on this. “Between the size of a crow and a raven, feathered, quite possibly the first step towards proof that dragons were a real thing.”

“Yes, nerd.” Despite the words, there was no bite to the warm tone, Jade simply guiding her girlfriend close for a lazy kiss. “We’re going to be the first ones from the public to see the skeleton they found.”

Immediately a pale hand was clamped over Tori’s mouth to muffle the excited, high-pitched sound, blue eyes shining at her dork. “Let’s go, but close your eyes, I want it to be a surprise.”

Obediently, Tori closed her doe eyes and held tight to her girlfriend’s hand as she followed her carefully, unsure how much time had passed when she heard Jade move behind her, strong arms wrapping around her slowly. “Okay, open,” came the gentle whisper against her ear.

When Tori opened her eyes, the fossilized remains were there, alright, but hanging from them rested a leather cord with a silver ring attached to it. Jade didn’t kneel, didn’t budge from her place behind her.

“Tori, you’re the biggest nerd I know, and I love listening to you info dump to me at three in the morning and our flour fights when we’re making pizza. And I love our dumb dog and seeing your face light up when I wake you up with tea or breakfast in the morning. So, will you spend the rest of your life with me?”


	23. A Frozen Lake, A Golden Crate, Classical Music

Frost tipped the edges of dead grass, creeping over to the surface of the lake. There, it made jagged little patterns on the surface, veins to a map that disappeared under the thick violet quilt the two girls were sitting on. Between them sat a box of cinnamon rolls, still faintly warm as they were picked at. 

"So, what do you want to do today?" Jade drawled, voice lazy as cream cheese icing coated her tongue, blue eyes closing for long moments. "I'm content with just laying around eating four different types of sugar, but, ice will eventually get uncomfortable to sit on." 

"There's actually something around that's right up your alley," Tori offered a nervous little smile, glancing away towards the house she'd been researching on and off. "Turns out there's some murder house type thing less than a mile from here, so I figured we could check it out."

"Say more right now."

"It's just some dark, messed up shit." Tori shook her head, leaving it at that. "You can research it later, all you need to know is that it's creepy and allegedly haunted."

Jade devoured the information silently, nodding slightly as she mulled it over. "Well, let's check it out, then. Shall we, or do you want to devour more sweet dough?" The question earned a silent no, Tori collecting her things as her companion took the box and her own bag. The blanket was left in place for them to return to, not anticipating being gone poking around horribly long. Being the one familiar with their next main event, Tori led the way, her fingers brushing shyly against her girl's. 

"Fuck!" Jade hissed, stumbling when she tripped over something hard protruding from the frozen ground. Steadying herself with the other girl's support, she looked down to find a dull, gold-coloured box peeking out from the soil. "The fuck is this?" She ignored the house for now to dig in the yard and free what had tried to snap her ankle. Even through her leather gloves, her fingers were frozen as she tried to dig with her fingers. 

Tori moved to help, curious and not about to protest having a little longer to prolong going into the decrepit house, only for Jade to lightly swat her uncovered hands away. After a moment, the leather gloves were passed over, something Jade regretted when the cold metal stole the warmth from her flesh. After a good few more minutes, the box was ripped free, the lid swinging open to reveal a tiny bear, gentle piano music playing faintly from the music box.

"Oh, we're absolutely going to get murdered, aren't we?"


	24. An Art Heist, An Old Library, A Pile of Books

Could it be called a heist if it had consisted of maybe ten minutes of planning following a dare? Well, an unofficial dare, anyway. Besides, heists implied you were stealing from somewhere  _ important _ , not just ripping a painting from a wall in your school and running like hell. It could hardly even be considered stealing if the so-called thief was also the painter, right? Either way, Tori found herself racing down the hallway and hitting the bar on the exit door with her hip, the metal slab swinging open and slamming with the force of its own weight behind her as she set off for the nearest side street.

She could hear security behind her, and she knew that this wasn’t exactly looking good to passerby either, it very obvious by everything in her behavior that she should not currently be holding the piece she was trying to make a getaway with. Perhaps the only thing going for her was that she had an accomplice, someone waiting on the rooftops who was occasionally firing apples at Tori’s pursuers, with enough accuracy that it was certainly making them think twice about if this was worth the trouble. Probably not, the senior reasoned as she turned down the road to find the ancient building she was seeking out, immediately angling herself towards its massive wooden doors and pushing inside, panting as she ducked her head and swept past the disapproving librarian on duty. 

She was met with a dumb grin, pale hands taking the liberated painting from her and gesturing for her to take a seat by a few stacks of books. “You actually fucking did it, I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, well, without you pelting someone in the eye with an apple, I wouldn’t have gotten away with it.”

“My aim is improving constantly. Almost hit a pedestrian too. Win-win,” Jade winked, tossing a small apple to her companion as she got cozy once again. “Well, your turn, I guess.”

“Christ, give me a minute, I’m still catching my breath. You’re the worst date ever,” a wink was tossed in with the words so her friend would know she was only joking. “Leave it to you to make truth or dare a criminal activity.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss  _ Buy Drugs from Sikowitz’s Weird Friend.  _ Was reclaiming your own artwork too out there for you? _ ” _

“It isn’t a crime if I didn’t know there was weed in the snacks I wanted you to get me until  _ as I was biting into them  _ you ass!” Tori laughed, elbowing her date in the ribs lightly. “Alright, idiot, truth or dare?”


	25. A Bar, One Drink Too Many, A New Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like it's been a while since I added to the period AU, so here you go c:

Tori wasn’t sure what made her agree to venture out to the pub with Jade; perhaps it was her curiosity for having never been to one, or perhaps it was her growing fondness for her hostess’ company, but either way she was following the pale woman like a faithful puppy down the stone road and into the little building. It was charming in a way, homely and cozy with gentle music playing over the speakers. Truth be told, it was nothing like what Tori had expected when she heard the word  _ pub, _ and she was pleasantly surprised. It was a smokey room, but it didn’t reek of tobacco, it smelled almost sweet, but before she could ask Jade about it, the other woman was already in motion to greet someone. Meekly, Tori could only follow, suddenly feeling small and shy and out of place here as curious eyes regarded the newest entries for half a second.

“This is my dear friend, Tori. She’ll be staying with me and accompanying me on my travels for a good while.” Jade was saying to a clean looking couple, who studied her with silent questions but seemed to know better than to ask Jade any of them, only nodding their heads and accepting this news before extending polite greetings to Tori and introducing themselves as well. Tori was still trying to get over being called Jade’s  _ dear _ friend,  not sure why her skin felt pleasantly atingle. 

“It’s a delight to meet you,” she offered a warm smile, feeling slender fingers twine with hers, offering her hand a reassuring squeeze before leading her away to the stools at the bar. Jade gestured for her to sit first while she snagged the attention of the bartender, who seemed to recognize her with more than a hint of amusement in her eyes. Tori watched the exchange, the way Jade leaned over the bar to speak directly into the other woman’s ear to make herself heard, the way amusement spread to gentle laughter, the fleeting way their hands touched, took it all in before turning her gaze elsewhere. Her free hand picked at the peanuts waiting in a neat little bowl to be consumed, unsure why her stomach felt so strange.

It was no new development, this feeling over the past few days that had been churning in her stomach and bubbling under the surface when she saw her friend around the house. What was new was the hint of dejection she felt watching Jade share a friendly laugh with someone or those subtle touches, and she hated it. The pale woman was a bit of a touchy person with those she grew close to, Tori could attest to that from the little scalp massages she received whenever she rested her head on Jade’s shoulder to read her books.

“Hello there.” She could barely make out the slurred words as she turned towards the speaker, the scent of strong alcohol wafting over her and practically seeping from his pores. “Pretty lady.” She didn’t even hear the rest of what he said, instead captivated by the fluid way in which Jade inserted herself between them, clearly picking up on Tori’s discomfort. 

“She’s spoken for.” Jade’s voice was calm and even, and something about the words made Tori feel just a little warm.

“Let ‘er speak for herself,” he moaned, swaying a little on his feet as he emptied what was left of his latest drink, spilling half of it into his beard.

“Sir, I strongly advise you find someone else to talk to.” The words were sweet as syrup but something was sparking in blue eyes. 

“I don’t see anyone ‘speaking for her’.”

Leaning back against the bar, a pale hand found Tori’s cheek, guiding her into a soft, languid kiss. Tori could feel Jade’s smirk at the sound leaving the man, and relief flooded her when, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a burly figure guiding the man back to his seat. Only then were her fingers pulling Jade closer, silently begging her not to stop just yet.


	26. A Missing Person, A Houseplant, An Unexpected Visitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MORE MISSING JADE

"What do you mean you've been there?" Tori leaned forward, full attention now on the older woman as she set her tea aside. "As a patient?"

"Yes." Celeste took pause, hesitation crossing her features when it came to discussing this experience. "It was a very minor procedure, a surgery following an accident. I don't even remember much of it between the drugs and their psychiatric treatment." Before she could even continue on with her recounting of the event, another knock at the door sounded, and she rose to slowly open it, wary of who could be visiting at this time. 

Beck and André stood on the other side of the door, the sullen boy following André inside as the latter offered a gentle smile and his condolences once again. "Sorry, I know you weren't expecting us, but Tori said she was coming by and I wanted to let you know we're happy to help her and you however we can." 

"I appreciate that, André. Thank you," Celeste closed the door once again, returning her full focus to the young investigator on her couch. Choosing her words carefully, as if she didn't entirely trust the newest arrivals, she spoke as she settled herself in her chair. "Tori, I truly hope that you can reach the bottom of this. My own experiences with those involved were brief and limited, but I can verify that the information you've gathered is correct. The only relevant thing I can think of that may help is that Jade kept researching different forms of rebirth, kept herself informed of different rituals and such."

"Do you think that she's still… out there, somewhere? Herself?" Tori wanted to be more blunt but Celeste's body language had become very closed since the boys arrived and she knew there had to be a reason for that. 

"I certainly hope so." The words were quiet, and offered with a very slight nod, Celeste rising from her seat and fixing the potted plant on the coffee table. "I'm sorry, I know you just arrived, but please, I need to attend to some matters."

"Of course!" Cat stood up immediately, giving the woman a gentle but quick hug before ushering herself and the boys to the door. 

Tori awkwardly offered the woman a hug as well. "Thank you so much. I promise I'm going to find her for you," she whispered, squeezing pale hands gently. 

"I only pray the surgery wasn't too extreme." The words were so quiet and defeated as she saw Tori to the door, gently closing it and leaving her home in silence. 


	27. A Fleeing Princess, Dark Magic, A Dagger in a River

The glimmer of decorated silver flashing the sunlight back towards the sky was what called Jade’s attention forward to it. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, a shaky breath fell from her lips and she thrust a hand into the icy water to wrap around the colder metal hilt and rip it forward. All too quickly the runic inscriptions on the dagger began to glow a bright blue, pulsing with each scream of her heart, her lungs burning as she kicked into motion again, trying to outrun a silent pursuer. Thick black vines crept from her sleeve to wrap around her fingers and the dagger, unifying them with a dark bond only whispered to her in the dead of the night. 

Jade couldn’t remember how long she had been running, only that the sun was dipping below the sky and it was a goddamn miracle that she could still breathe. The gaping yawn of the cave ahead at least marked her destination as attainable. Boots covered in dirt and dried mud, she pushed on until she was breaching the cave’s opening and dragging herself deeper. The runes on the dagger cast a gentle glow, providing little illumination until fed with a drop of blood - only then growing bright enough to allow her to properly see inside and make her way over to the fire pit. She was so absorbed in forming her source of heat and light for the evening that she didn’t hear the footsteps drawing nearer, the gentle fall of leather on stone and soil. 

Tori folded her arms across her chest as she silently surveyed her quarry, creeping closer and closer to the young woman, but keeping a wary distance from the powerful magic user. “You know you can’t run forever.”

“I don’t have to.”

“You know I have to do this.”

Slowly, azure eyes met brown ones as Jade answered. “You don’t have to do anything. You choose to.”

“There will be consequences if I do not deliver what is asked of me, princess.” Tori steeled her nerves, bracing herself for what was to come. “Hand over the dragons.”

“Oh, you want dragons?” There was something immediately sinister to the words, Tori actually flinching at the sharp, toothy smile accompanying them that grew and grew until pale jaws were splitting. A forked tongue whipped out with a hiss, patches cracking along ivory skin until ink black scales were seeping through the fractures. All too slowly, but all at once, the princess she’d been chasing became a monstrous dragon towering above her.


	28. A Winter Night, A Cry for Help, Black Velvet Curtains

The scream was piercing through the night air, jagged and pained as the ice broke. The current dragged her down, dragged her further along the river until she found something to stabilize herself on. The hilt of a knife pounded at the ice above her, the sharp little windbow-breaker attached to it helping to chip through the layers. Finally, it shattered and broke, allowing Jade to plunge her hands into water that stole any warmth from her body. Numb already, her fingers curled in drenched fabric and  _ yanked _ , all of her strength going into dragging Tori out of the river. Her boots slipped a few times but her iron grip didn't falter until the other girl was out of the water. 

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Tori," Jade huffed, ripping her own jacket off and all but bullying her date into putting it on. Only when the coat replaced the saturated one now on the ground did she take a tan hand again and briskly start the walk back home. "Come on, we need to get you in a warm bath and then we can figure out food."

Despite her abrasive way of handling it, it was clear that the woman was concerned as she quickened their pace a bit. Tori couldn't hold still if her life depended it, the sound of her own shivering threatening to deafen her as she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other. Thankfully, almost before she knew it she was being pushed through their front door and dragged right to the bathroom, pale hands performing the familiar act of undressing her with a new urgency. She was instructed to sit and hold on while Jade started to fill the tub, only allowing her to get inside when she was satisfied it wouldn't be too hot and send her body into shock. 

Tori closed her eyes as she sank into water for the second time in less than an hour. When she opened them, she could just barely make out the stars on the otherwise black velvety curtains giving their bathroom privacy from the rest of the world. Slowly, her head turned to the side, finding that Jade had already returned with a simple meal, a grilled cheese and a bowl of hot soup, even though the pale woman hated it. 

"Thank you," came the murmur, sounding to Tori's ears too far away to be her own voice. 

"Just don't pass out on me, yeah?"

  
  



	29. A Deadly Sin, A Pastel Suit, A Broken Heart

Tori could lie and say she wasn't sure why she had done it, but it would be precisely that - a lie. She had done it because she was hurt and angry and betrayed, every textbook emotion someone who's being cheated on goes through. Perhaps it was a bit extreme, what she did, but it was in the past now, so it didn't quite matter anymore. Besides, it seemed the approaching figure would have the final say on that. 

There was something unreal about the woman, ethereal even. Jade approached in a baby blue suit, the pastel version of the sky on a clear day. She didn't even introduce herself, a spotless black shoe lightly nudging the crumpled body on the floor onto its back. "My, my, Tori Vega," a smirk was audible in her voice, bright eyes  _ sparkling  _ as they took the murderess in, "you've really been a bad girl, haven't you?"

"Who are you?" Tori just barely managed to keep her voice even, hairs on her nape on edge from the sound of her name on the other woman's tongue. Jade's voice was dangerous but not menacing, and the taller woman loved the allure of something sharp and deadly. 

"Oh sweetheart, I'm the devil." Jade's voice was rich and smooth like chocolate, spreading over her companion's skin and sinking in. "And I have a special task for you."

"Look, if it's about my special place in hell being the throne, I can't help it." Now Tori was the one smirking, unable to resist a little sass to charm Miss Satan herself. 

"Tori, the only way you're sitting in my throne is if I bend you over my lap. Now come, and we'll discuss business." A wink accompanied the words, pale fingers hooking under the collar of the corpse's shirt and dragging it behind her as she began to walk. Tori's mouth was dry suddenly, unsure just what she was getting into but far from turned away from the thought of dancing with the devil.


	30. A Stolen Car, A Torn Map, Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Missing Jade!

It was with quite a bit of digging that Tori finally found an address for Oroboros. She left in the middle of the night, leaving a note in exchange for her mother's car before she was locking the door behind her. If the roads were quiet, the highway was a new kind of eerie silence. The occasional truck driver would show up in her rearview mirror, but the stretch of darkness before her and behind her may as well have been the gaping maw of the void ready to swallow her whole, like it had Jade. 

For reasons even she couldn't explain, she had written down the exits she would need to take on their old, worn, state map, not entirely trusting her gps data linking her to that place. It was a gut feeling. She had deliberately turned her phone into airplane mode so it could only play music, and even then she was a bit wary. Tori couldn't place her finger on what made her so hesitant to do anything when it came to this, but she wouldn't argue with her instincts. Her fingers on the steering wheel tapped rhythm with a song that she should be enjoying but was just making her stomach churn further. It made her think of Jade, but everything lately did. 

_ I'm not gonna change _

_ Stay out of my way _

_ I don't need you to understand _

_ That I'm already saved _

_ Maybe you should stop, question all your pain _

_ Can you look me in my eyes and say we're not the same? _

What if it was all too late and Jade really was someone else already? What if she had been for years now?

"What the fuck am I doing?" Tori whispered to herself, the road blurring slightly. It wasn't like she was going to arrive and suddenly it would be years ago and she would be at the right moment to save Jade. She didn't even know what her plan was, but she didn't turn around. 

The woman didn't stop to sleep, knowing rest wouldn't come to her anyway. She only stopped when she was finally approaching the corporation. The car was left behind, somewhere safe and hidden a bit by the forest. The entire walk of the trail she was making was spent carefully searching for surveillance equipment, anything to give her away. It was a bit pointless given that the best plan she could come up with had been walking in and asking after some of their old patients, but one couldn't be too cautious, she supposed. 

Her plan crumbled completely when she actually stepped onto the grass in front of the giant building. Outside, a few feet away from her, smoking a cigarette and leaning back against a decorative fountain, was a stunning woman with striking blue eyes and full lips. 

Yeah, Tori was gay, but she didn't feel that little tug over just anyone. There was no scar above the woman's left eyebrow, and the stud in her nostril had been replaced with a pretty little gold hoop, but those eyes were so familiar, and when they lighted upon Tori, so fearful. 


	31. A Newspaper Article, A Burned Paper, A Rooftop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Period piece!!

Tori followed her companion like she was in a daze, stumbling a little on the climb up the old ladder to the rooftop of the bar. Following Jade's silent instruction, she sat herself slowly on the surface that was smoothed by rain and time. Brown eyes didn't dare to leave the pale woman until she too was sitting and gazing out at the stars. Only then did she allow herself to process. Jade had kissed her. In front of everyone. With no shame. 

"What… what was that, in there?" Her voice shook a little with nerves as she too looked to the stars to ground herself. 

"Did I upset you? I thought I had been doing a fairly good job of reading you, Tori. I'm sorry if I caused you any distress." Jade's voice was soft but to Tori it echoed as though they were in an underwater cavern. 

"N-no, it's not that. I'm just… surprised, I guess. I um, can we try it again?" A little smile curved her soft lips as she turned her gaze to Jade again, finding blue eyes already on her. At the woman's permission, she so slowly leaned closer, brushing their lips together again. Pale arms wrapped around her neck, guiding her closer with a soft little sigh. 

"Relax, Tori."

"Tell me a secret," the doe eyed woman requested in the same heartbeat, so soft and sweet. 

Carefully, Jade untangled herself from her girl, reaching into the pocket of her coat and pulling out a battered envelope. From inside, she removed a faded newspaper article, scorched at the edges and a bit too crisp to suggest it had been entirely saved. "This," she started, delicately passing it to Tori, "is the first thing I ever got printed. It's just a poem, but I carry it with me until I have a big book of my own out there."

A tender smile was on the other woman's lips as she leaned forward for another kiss. "Well, tell me how I can help, then. Let's do this."


	32. A Storyteller, A Prophet, A Conman

Tori was rather accustomed to weary travellers entering her bar. She welcomed them with polite smiles and hot food, and, as a result, she was well spoken of among them and knew many by name, even if they would be away months at a time. Jade happened to be one of such travellers, securing her horse outside with clean water before entering. Every eye was on her, making it clear that this was far from her first time entering. As she sat at an unoccupied table, a murmur swept around the room slowly, as though rippling through the ranks to see who would approach first. 

Of course it was Tori. It was nearly always Tori, after all setting the bottle of wine in the center of the table between them, the brown eyed woman tilted her head to one side, offering a wry smile. "Well, go on, prophet, tell me my future."

A warm, almost sly smile that reminded Tori of a fox met the words, the woman pulling a small pouch from her cloak and resting it atop the table. Tiny metal cubes and hexagons were drawn from it, those light blue eyes looking so haunted the moment the metal came into contact with her skin. Truth be told, Tori had no idea if there was a word of truth to any of what Jade practiced or if she was just another conman, but her patrons seemed to sing her praises. Quite literally, in some cases. She listened as that low, smoky voice spun a tale around what the dice told her. Sudden changes but a wish come true, and swift news would arrive before dawn, but Jade didn't say it so plainly. 

Instead, she painted a picture of Tori's struggles and personal doubts, promising that fortunate changes had already found her. She told of a raven carrying a message over the heads of wolves and bears. She rested a cool hand on top of Tori's, for a moment sending a satronger beat to the tavern keeper's heart. Those blue eyes were mesmerizing but doe eyes kept dropping to full lips that so carefully spoke precise words as the background noise seemed to fade away from them, tan cheeks warming anytime she was caught. 


	33. A Struggling Musical, Missing Shoes, Lots of Puns

“What the  _ fuck, _ Richard?”

“CUT! Jade, stop saying fuck!!” Trina’s whine was full of frustration and little else. She had been struggling for over a month with her musical, only to have her sister and said sister’s girlfriend fucking it up every few minutes they tried to do a take. To be fair, at least Tori’s were accidents for the most part. Jade just generally kept fucking with her dialogue options.

“Goddammit, sorry,” Jade grumbled, crossing her arms and doing her best to look more guilty than annoyed. She slipped away from the older girl to go hunt down her girlfriend at the snack table. Aka, the kitchen of the Vega household. “Can I quit yet? She isn’t firing me and this is annoying,” she sulked, arms wrapping around Tori from behind and tugging her into a little embrace, sharp chin resting atop her shoulder.

“No, babe, you made a promise to me to be nicer and help with this, and I know it’s difficult, but if we really focus we can get this done today. Alright? Then after we can just lie in bed and watch a movie or two with some snacks.” Tori turned her head to press a kiss to a soft cheek, smiling at the begrudging nod she earned. “Let’s get back to it, okay babe?”

“Where are my shoes?”

“Shoe-dn’t you know the answer to that?” Tori was enjoying the dialogue, much to Jade’s dread.

“This isn’t funny!”

“It seems heel-arious to me!”

Not rolling her eyes was among the biggest struggles Jade had faced up to that point in her life. “Leave it to you to think that.”

“Aw, come on, don’t be so grumpy, boot-iful. They’re bound to be around here somewhere, clog-ging up some space.”

Jade had to fucking walk away, which, gratefully, was in the script, and take a whole ass minute too cool off from how ridiculously annoying this whole project was, but the mini donuts calmed her temper a little. Finally, she was done with her part of this ordeal, and free to focus on planning her night with Tori, hunting down some movies they could catch as she waited for Trina to finish up with the younger Vega. 

“Hey, you,” came the sweet voice she was waiting for a good few minutes after the first download had finished. “Shall we?”

“Take me to bed, Vega.”


	34. A Book Series with a Large Following, A Train, A Character with an Important Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Period piece!

“So where are we going?” Once again, Tori found herself on a train with Jade, but this time the woman was beside her and had even been generous enough to wrap the fur around the other woman’s shoulders instead of her own. 

“Somewhere cold. I miss the snow, and I have a few people I quite think would love to meet you. You’ll enjoy it there, they have the very best jazz clubs and the people themselves are divine.” Jade leaned her head back for a moment before fixing her gaze out the window as if to monitor their progress. “Read to me, will you?” She requested suddenly. “I have a horrid headache and focusing on the small print will only make it worse.”

A simple nod met the question, Tori opening the book beside her, one of many crime novels in a series Jade seemed to be rather fond of. Carefully, she turned to the page where their tickets resided, used as temporary bookmarks, and began to read the paragraph Jade had left them off on the previous night. Ever since their kiss at the bar, the two had become even more domestic, Tori having even fallen asleep in Jade’s bed while the pale woman read to her.

She had barely made it a few pages in when Jade reached over to rest a hand on her companion’s, effectively pausing her. “Tell me a secret,” she murmured. “Tell me why you were so desperate to leave behind everything you knew and the safety net of your family.”

The taller woman shook her head slowly, absently playing with delicate fingers as she mulled over the question. “Nothing horribly interesting, I suppose. I just wanted my freedom to make my own adventure, and they placed such importance on marrying a good man. It was all they wanted of me, and I figured if I did so but he would make me move away to be with him, I could pretend to make myself happy like that.”

“Are you happy with your choice?”

“Yes. Of course, though I daresay that my parents would have skinned me alive if they’d ever seen or learned of me kissing another woman let alone pursuing a relationship with her.”

“Would they not continue loving you anyway?”

“They seldom did to begin with. They tolerated me with a measure of fondness reserved for one’s hunting hounds.”


	35. A Blindfold, A Theater, Candles

Tori blindly followed her girlfriend, the soft cloth over her eyes ensuring she was in total darkness for the surprise of just where their date was to take place. The cool hand in her own offered the reassurance she needed as she made her way along quietly, and she hushed her thoughts and internal questions when they slowed to a stop. 

"We're here, just give me a second." Jade's voice reached her, followed by a quiet clicking. A full minute later, the blindfold was being untied and the sweetest kiss was placed to her nape. "Well, what do you think?"

The other girl was left speechless as she took in the theater they had performed in countless times through their highschool experience. Half a dozen candles littered the stage where Jade now sat smirking up at her with more than a little pride in herself. 

"Jade…" The more openly sentimental of the two stepped forward, taking both hands in hers again. "This is.. how the hell did you do this?" She laughed softly, knowing she shouldn't be surprised, but they'd been in college for two years now.

"Shh, I know a guy, don't worry about it. It's fine," Jade grinned at her lover, kissing her knuckles and tugging her to sit down with her. "I even brought some food."

"We're having a picnic?!"

"Hey, quiet down. You're gonna ruin my reputation," Jade huffed despite the little smile on her lips.

"Oh, I'm sure."


	36. A Small Local Bookstore, Butterflies, A Lipstick Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Ghost!Tori

"So what exactly are we looking for, again?" Jade asked her ghost companion for the third time, hoping for a real answer this time. A gentle sigh sounded from her right, and she could picture Tori shaking her head without even looking. 

"It's a book."

"Oh, right, that will be super easy to find. Thank god we're in a store for old books."

"There is no god." Tori snorted, sending a shiver through her companion when she took a pale hand and started dragging her upstairs, making sure no one was paying them too much mind. "I think I know where it is, just help me out, okay?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" The remark was soft as Jade glanced behind them before pulling her lock picking tools from her bag and silently getting to work on the locked door, her friend shifting from foot to foot anxiously behind her until a gentle click sounded. 

"Should I know why you know how to do that?"

"Worry about yourself, pretty lady." A wink was tossed in the brunette's direction as Jade mozied her way into the sizable room. She let the other woman take the lead, genuinely not sure where to even begin the search in this storage room. Was everything in there tied to one of the spectral residents of the store?

"Alright. It's wrapped in a shirt, if I remember right, and it's leather bound with papyrus paper inside it. There's a rose pressed in the first page." Tori walked over to one of the numerous boxes and began the tiring task of sifting through for the only thing keeping her from being free to roam as she pleased. She couldn't even begin to hazard a guess as to how long it took them to sort their way through five or six boxes before Jade broke the silence between them by calling her over. 

In pale hands was a bundle of creamy white fabric, a smear of red lipstick on the collar making Tori smile softly as she took the bundle and carefully unwrapped it, finding the journal she had kept in her youth and hugging it close. "Jade… I'm so sorry. I haven't been honest with you. I really do care about you and treasure your friendship, but this-"

"Hey," Jade cut her off, shaking her head slowly. "I know. It's time for you to move on now. Find peace or whatever."

"I.. I love you, but I just can't stay. I'll wait for you." Already she was fading away, her hand passing clean through Jade's. 

"I was starting to love you too," Jade murmured to an empty room, sighing quietly and sitting back down on the floor. Counting the floorboards, she ignored the sting in her eyes at the loss of her first friend around here until something moved in the corner of her gaze. Turning her head, she was treated to the sight of three blue butterflies circling around each other before coming to settle on her shirt. 

"God, Vega, you're a sap."


	37. A Murder, A Boat, A Foreign Language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NCIS au

Tori hated many things in this world. First and foremost, she hated the pieces of shit she had to hunt down and bring in for murder or for hurting kids. She also hated cold coffee, and the way her neighbor's untrained dog woke her every goddamn morning. The woman was coming to find, however, that she didn't hate French as much as she thought she did. At least, not when Jade was the one speaking it.

Brown eyes took in the forensic scientist as she gathered information from their key witness, the sea breeze ruffling at her hair every now and again as the boat calmly rocked under their feet. Sure, from its proximity to other languages, Tori could figure out a few words, but the rapid speaking was far too much for her to keep up with, and ultimately, she was forced to let Jade take the lead for once. She didn't mind, per se but she hated being even one step behind by having to wait to have the information relayed to her. 

Her gaze had turned to the sea itself, wary as she watched the waves building, by the time Jade approached, those soft full lips near her ear as a pale hand innocently rested on her arm. "You good, boss?"

"Just get seasick easily."

_ "Pauvre petit chiot. _ " A smile was audible in the words. "Let's get you back on dry land and I'll fill you in." 


	38. An Animal Considered Sacred, A Magical Bag, A Forest that Moves and Speaks

Stone tigers littered the pathway to the remains of a large temple, moss coating more than one of the statues in patterns blending into stripes as if they belonged there. Tori's footfalls were near silent on the grass, boots carrying her closer to the ruins. Discomfort prickled at her skin as she neared her destination. The rumors were that in the center of those very forest, where trees started to blend together if you kept walking and murmurs would tickle your ears as deer loped past, rested the forest god himself.  
The forest god was said to be able to cure any ailment, but was notoriously difficult to find and had a temper, and yet, the woman could already make out a figure ahead, leaning up against a pearly pillar. Moving a few things around in her bag, she pulled out a too-large bottle of wine and a basket of food offerings. "Hello?" She asked, her voice much softer and more tentative than she would have liked.   
"Approach." The responding voice was feminine, which threw Tori off given all the Intel she had received up to this point to prepare her for the meeting and journey she had embarked on.   
"I, ah, I came to speak to the forest god.. I need to make a petition." She closed the distance between herself and the lounging woman, who was fitted in a rippling blue dress the same color as her eyes.   
"Present what you have brought forth for him."   
Slowly, the sanguine wine was poured out into the runic carvings dipping into a marble bowl on the floor. The basket was set beside it, but before she could arrange what she had brought, the priestess was guiding her dress up a creamy thigh. Brown eyes were mesmerized because the poor woman was a gay mess, only for a knife strapped to the other woman's thigh to be revealed and drawn.   
Before Tori could even ask, Jade was making a small cut on her thumb and letting the blood sacrifice drip into the wine and mix. A square of chocolate was tossed in as well, and hot breath splayed over the back of Tori's neck. When she turned, a massive stag towered over her, his eyes golden and his shaggy fur celestial.   
"Speak, my mortal child." His voice rang with more power than she had ever heard despite speaking quietly.


	39. A Camera, A Gun, A Song Lyric

Jade had reached a point where she could no longer remember when she had lived in peace without looking over her shoulder every few minutes and taking a roundabout way home. It had been happening well over a week now, but the final straw had been the pictures in her mailbox of her in various locations and a handwritten note. As an angry, headstrong teenager, she’d decided enough was enough and to take the matter into her own hands. Surely she was angry enough to take of herself in this matter and scare the guy off, right? Young rage was a potent thing, but so was obsession, she would come to discover.

Her plan had been carefully laid out already for a few days. She would meet up with Andre and Cat for dinner, then on her way home she would corner the guy. She’d even thoughtfully planted a crowbar in her alley for herself to use when the time came. She shouldn’t have been surprised when it was no longer there, yet, somehow, she was. The hairs on the back of her neck stood when she heard metal scraping against the brick wall and a voice from behind address her.

“Looking for this, doll?” 

God, she hated the hints of adoration lacing that word, and she turned, bristling, like an angry kitten facing down a hungry fox. “What the fuck do you want? Can I fucking help you with something since you’re too goddamn slow to figure out what ‘leave me the fuck alone’ means?”

“Hey now, peach, I just want to talk. We have a lot in common, you know.” The slow, calculated steps he was taking towards her, coupled with his grip on the crowbar begged to say otherwise, however.

“You know what it’s like to put up a front for the public. Let’s make a deal. You have secrets you need to get off your chest, so I’ll spill my guts if you’ll follow my lead.” 

Jade’s back hit the metal of a dumpster, effectively trapping her between a wall and her stalker. The crowbar wasn’t even what was frightening anymore, it was the knife being flicked open and giving her an impression that those words were a bit more literal than they had sounded. The cool metal of the blade just barely grazed her cheek when she erupted, the heel of her hand slamming hard against the man’s nose. Hot blood spilled out seconds later as he stumbled back a step, giving her just enough of an opening to duck and twist out of her position.

As was common with angry teenagers, however, Jade hadn’t quite thought through how aggressively he would react, lunging at her with his knife brandished. She didn’t have time to feel it hit her, though, a deafening sound startling her at almost the same moment a wail rose into the night air. Behind the now crumbled man stood Tori, still trembling with her father’s gun in her grip, brown eyes wide and terrified as her form seemed pinned in place.


	40. A City Plagued By Monsters, A Famous Writer, A Dangerous and Twisted Plot to Save Innocent Lives

_ Over time, the city had become more and more overgrown by the creeping darkness. Something sinister had seeped in seemingly overnight, starting first by affecting the insects. Their voracious hunger was what came first, attacking animals in a frenzy and slowly overcoming their defenses as well. The animals were who spread it to humanity, then, worked into a rabid frenzy that had the tendency to last mere days before death. No one had been able to place why humanity didn’t crumple as immediately, only caved into rather carnal madness. Rational thought was the first to go, something as simple as heightened aggression in adolescents or risky behaviors in adults seemingly seeking thrills. _

_ The illness would then lead to the affected individuals turning on one another and abusing substances until they were worked into a frenzy and at one another’s throats. It was a carnage, there was no way to sugarcoat that much, and the afflicted always seemed to turn on their family first. Those closest to them, usually during the night, would awake in horror for the last time.  _

Jade rolled her neck slowly, a quiet crack sounding as she studied the words before her. With a deadline in the not-so-distant future, she was left to at least come up with a solid concept for herself to work out into a full length novel. “Baaaaaaaaaaabe,” she whined, her girlfriend’s glance cheering her spirits up some. 

“Yes, love?” Tori slowly rose to come to her lover’s side, getting settled on the bed with her.

“I hate everything. I hate writing. I quit.”

“You can’t quit, Jade. Your massive fanbase would come find you and drag you forcibly to a computer and bribe you with food and alcohol and gifts to write for them.” Tori’s smile pressed against Jade’s shoulder, shaking her head in mild amusement. “Come on, we’ll sit out on the balcony and eat pizza and drink mediocre wine and you can get inspired.”

“Mm,” a slow nod of agreement met the words, Jade slowly leaving her seat to find their takeout menu.

“Why don’t you have people getting intentionally infected by the government or something to be weaponized in order to allegedly save the innocent?”

“I’ll keep it in mind but let’s leave work inside,” Jade murmured, taking a tan hand to gently guide her girl out to their little balcony.


	41. A Rusty Truck, A Hidden Hard Drive, Three Friends on the Run

The truck was a tetanus shot waiting to happen, rust coating every inch of it and even chipping off in some places. That being said, it was their only option available, so it was utilized. Jade lounged in the bed of the truck, the metal cover of a laptop shining dimly under passing streetlights as she opened it. The hard drive they had unearthed was then plugged into the reader, the small fan inside whirring gently as the woman waited for it to load. 

They had been sent on this chase along with a few dozen others, though they'd been the first to access the gps coordinates to the small box the hard drive had been locked in. "Hey, we've got company," Tori called out through the back window as headlights flashed in the distance, the roar of an engine deafening the nearer the much more efficient car drew to them. 

"On it," Jade set her laptop aside and lifted her gun, clicking the safety off and keeping it trained as Cat reached back and took the laptop and hard drive carefully. The redhead rested the machine on her lap, anxiously fidgeting with the cable to the reader as she scrolled through the contents to find their next clue as quickly as possible. She started with the audio file, uploading it to their editor and opening the image as she waited. 

"No pressure but I need you both to hurry," Tori's voice was tense as her grip tightened on the wheel, shoulders tensing with the sound of Jade's shot before she relaxed with the resounding screech of metal grinding on pavement. "Brace yourself," was her only warning to the sharpshooter before she was making a hard left with the road and dimming the lights, chancing a look over at Cat. "Anything?"

"Spectrogram. Still can't figure out the angle. We can't share that we found it yet, suspect is enjoying the attention too much." Cat chewed on her lip, having not signed up for any of this mess but having a job to do in order to stay out of the danger her role at work had put her in. 

"Keep at it, there must be a lot in there."


	42. A Magazine, A Daughter, Gold

Sure, everyone had an intimidating boss, but Tori never could have expected the editor in chief of the magazine she worked at to be a literal wrathful goddess of war. Okay, maybe that wasn't fair. Sure, she was a healer too, but the whole thing was way above Tori's head or her paygrade. To make things even worse, or at least more intense, there was the fact that she worked with one of Sekhmet's champions on the same floor, and frequently exchanged words with her. 

  
She wasn't intimidated by Jade, especially not in the way she was of their boss, but it was no wonder the woman had earned her title as a champion. The mane of dark hair, the piercing and unflinching eyes, the way she held herself, the fury in her features, it was all spelled out for her. In the proverbial battles they waged and fought daily, Jade way always at the forefront, demanding justice for every victim and marginalized community with her pieces and interviews. While she might not be out there punching people in the face - well, actually, there was that one time - she was making people aware of what was going on no matter who it pissed off. In fact, pissing the enemy off only seemed to make Jade's smile more fierce and toothy.

  
There was also the side to Jade that only Tori seemed to take notice of: the mournful, too knowing look in blue eyes when nothing could be done and her work could offer no hope; the gentle, if awkward, approach to souls who were wounded. Hell, she'd even once correctly diagnosed and ordered treatment for Tori's sprained wrist. Jade may outrank her, but the woman seldom made her feel that way or reminded her verbally of it. 

  
As she watched her girl glow under the praise of her golden-eyed mother, Tori bit back a smile, raising her cup of coffee in silent cheers before looking back to the piece she herself was working on. She had a presentation with members of the board today where one of her own mentors would be present, and she wanted nothing more than to succeed and rise through the ranks. The pay raise wouldn't hurt either. 


	43. Small Roadtrip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First and foremost, this one is based off Night in the Woods 
> 
> Next, importantly, I'm sorry for the delay, and I'm sorry to announce that due to stress and other things going on in life, I'm cutting down to a drabble a week. Thank you for understanding that this is the best course of action for me.

“Are you nervous or something, Vega?” There was only a hint of annoyance to Jade’s voice as she regarded her passenger from the corner of her eye. They were on their way to finally visit some of the idiots they had graduated with, which she would have expected Tori would be happy about, but instead her companion was messing with every button on the radio and constantly readjusting the vents.

“Kind of!” Tori admitted in a pitiful almost-wail, resting her head against the window. “Before they moved, Beck got all pissy with me for being a ‘bad influence’ on Andre and having shenanigans like we used to when we were dumb teenagers.”

“That was over a year ago, and didn’t you all talk that out? Relax already, they’re just going to be happy we’re finally getting around to being able to visit.” Jade waved a hand at her girl, feeling those big brown eyes watching her and arching an eyebrow without returning the gaze. “Yes?”

“How can you be so sure? I don’t even know if Beck likes me.”

“You fucking idiot, he literally carried your nearly unconscious ass half a mile.”

“He was just being nice!” Tori protested, more than a little worked up about the whole ordeal and the overthinking that had been plaguing her for days now.

“Tori I fucking hate you. This is going to be fine, okay? And if you don’t believe me…” In a flash, Jade’s phone was in a pale hand and a call was being made to the boy in question. Before Tori could protest, he was answering and asking if everything was alright.

“Yeah, we’ll be there in about half an hour. Can you just do us a quick favor and convince Tori you don’t hate her?”

They could practically hear the scrunched up face of confusion Beck made. “Why does she think I hate her? Of course I don’t, we’ve both missed you, Tori, and we’re looking forward to seeing you both and catching up.” There was a slow pause where Beck mulled over the issue at hand before sighing softly, “I know I’ve been a bit harsh on you in the past, Tori, but it was just frustration at the fear that me and Andre wouldn’t be able to get out of that town. You know?”

“Y-yeah, I get it,” Tori answered meekly, fiddling with the vent again.

“But that doesn’t mean I hate you, or that I ever did for that matter. Just focus on the pizza we’re going to eat, and if you brought your bass we can even have a band practice like old times.”

That reassured the girl enough, a small smile on her lips, “Thank you, Beck. We’ll see you in a little while.” She ended the call and leaned over to press a kiss to a pale cheek. “That was actually pretty nice of you. So, when are you going to admit that drums on the computer aren’t real drums?”

“When you buy me a real set of drums, Vega.”


	44. Shameless Fallout Au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry kids. I love you all but my health has been a bit rough so I haven't been writing for a little bit. I'll post the updates I owe in the next few days then back to our regularly scheduled programming.

"Courier? What, that some fancy way to say errand girl?" Tori scoffed softly as she took another sip of her whiskey, brown eyes regarding the standing woman with only a hint of interest, though that could be attributed to the leather armor wrapped around her form and less to her sales pitch.  
"One, fuck off. Two, it's just a way to earn some caps until I sell my product to the right fool." Jade crossed her arms, leaning on the bar. After a moment of thought, she pulled the bottle of whiskey to herself without invitation, taking a slow swig. She didn't drink often, was more of a cigarette kind of girl, really, but impressions were to be made.   
"You fuck off," Tori protested, taking her bottle back but wearing a smile. "Do enlighten me as to what miracle to man you're selling, Miss West."  
"Information." A modest shrug accompanied the single word. "The sole most important resource someone can have. The upper hand, the blackmail, whatever they use it for is up to them, but they pay a hefty price for it. I don't restrict who I sell to, which some people criticize, but hey. If I really don't like what you're going to do with my product, I reserve the right to slit your throat in your sleep after I give it to you."  
"So you're the black widow that rumors are flying about?"  
A grimace was made at the statement, "I only fucked the one before I killed 'em. Reputation precedes me, but I know what I'm doing. I've got plans, you know. Not going to be stuck in this nothing wasteland forever."  
"That's what they all say," Tori remarked, just taking another drink.  
Jade didn't need the approval of some stranger, but she certainly didn't need this speel again either. Just shaking her head, she dropped her body onto the barstool before her, the sudden action earning a mew of complaint from inside her jacket.   
"What the fuck was that?"


	45. Missing Jade Update Rewrite

The look in blue eyes was very much what Tori imagined a deer looked line when pinned in place by a predator. Suddenly, her words were failing her and it was dawning on her just how unprepared she was for this mission. Clearing her throat slowly, forcing one foot in front of the other, she searched for enough of her voice to get a single question out as she gradually closed the distance between them. "I, ah, I just have a couple questions, if you have a minute?"

"I'm sorry, our media director is the one who handles most of the inquiries we receive. If you have questions relating to a specific procedure, our staff recommends you set up a consultation through our phone line, as we're a bit too busy for walk ins." Jade wouldn't let her get too close, circling around the fountain as she finished her cigarette. Tori couldn't decide what was more out of character for the other woman, apologizing or neglecting to use the fountain to put her cigarette out.

"Jade, I just-"

Those fearful eyes widened before narrowing into slits, "You need to go," she hissed, barely audible with the distance between them. Her spine went rigid when another set of footsteps approached, a lanky coworker joining her at the fountain.

"You good, Cherry? You're needed back inside. You've got that appointment still before you take off for a couple of days." A hand found her shoulder, and Jade nodded curtly.

"Yeah, tell him I'll be right in," she requested quietly, watching her companion head back to the doors before her gaze found Tori again.

"Cherry?" God, if it didn't tie her stomach in knots, the investigator could almost giggle at the name.

"You need to go," Jade repeated firmly. "Look, if you actually care, you _need to get the fuck out of here."_ Shifting her weight from leg to leg, she glanced back towards the building, chewing the inside of her lip at the silhouette of a figure waiting for her. Just like that, without any goodbyes, she walked away, leaving behind a confused and hurting Tori.

_What the fuck was that about?_ Tori sat in her car as she tried to process the interaction. She was left with even more questions and no plan of action. Before her sat a page with what little information she had discovered.

Cherry.

Facial surgery.

Going away for a few days.

Where was she going? Did that imply she lived at the institute these days? No direct answers came to her, but a sleek silver sports car drove past on the winding road, one that had passed her hideout spot a good fifteen minutes prior, only this time, when Tori glanced up to make sure she hadn't been noticed, there was a woman in the passenger seat. The flighty creature she had spoken to earlier that day was seated so calmly and silently inside the vehicle, and before Tori could tell herself not to, her own car was creeping out of the thick treeline to pursue them. 


End file.
